The Vangasali campaign was launched on the 2nd of June 2020 as part of Child Protection Week. Vangasali is a Xitsonga phrase meaning No One Left Behind, which is what the Vangasali campaign is trying to achieve. The First Phase of this campaign was aimed at finding every Early Childhood Development (ECD) service in South Africa, which includes ECD centres, play groups, toy libraries and other non-centre based ECD service modalities. Phase 1 of the Vangasali campaign is a partnership between the Department of Social Development, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and GovChat.
People were able to participate in the campaign in three ways: Through an online form, via email as well as via WhatsApp. The Nelson Mandela Foundation is grateful to all ECD services that participated in the campaign, as the success of the campaign could not have been achieved without the support of the ECD sector.
With the first phase of the Vangasali campaign nearing completion, the second phase of the Vangasali campaign is aimed at supporting ECD services to apply for registration. This second phase - which will use the data collected during phase 1 - will involve the nationwide implementation of the ECD registration framework, and the associated Vangasali registration toolkits and methods which create a developmental pathway for the registration of all types of ECD services.
The partnership between the Department of Social Development and the Nelson Mandela Foundation on the Vangasali campaign demonstrates the value that can be achieved by government and civil society working hand in hand. The Foundation would like to take this opportunity to thank the Department for its commitment and foresight to the Vangasali campaign, which we as the Foundation believe has the potential to make an indelible mark on the ECD sector.