Johannesburg – As early childhood development centres battle financial pressures due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a daycare centre owner in Gauteng has shared the sacrifices she’s had to make to keep the facility going.
Many parents have not been able to pay fees since they lost their jobs or facing other economic hardships.
Owner of the Lesedi day Care Centre in Alexandra, Refiloe Zwane, which opened its doors in 2014 to look after some of the community’s most vulnerable. The centre, like many others, has not been spared from the devastating impact of the pandemic.
In order to keep the doors open, Refiloe said that she’s had to tap into her own financial resources. But she’s lost more than half of the children who were forced to stop attending.
“The numbers decreased, we used to have 80 children, now we are left with only 36,” she said.
Her sacrifices have also had a chain reaction as she had to let some of her staff go in order to keep the centre open.
“Even teachers, we couldn’t pay our staff, so teachers have to leave and look for other jobs,” said Zwane.
