Nestled within the borders of the Acornhoek community close to our lodge in Hoedspruit is a small but very busy Daycare Centre called Xilaveko. Ivy Sibuyi, wife to Jabulani butler, Obert Chauke, started the centre with Obert in 2014 to assist those who worked far from home by looking after their children and ensuring their health and well-being while their parents were at work.

In 2017, Xilaveko Day Care was registered as a Nonprofit Organisation, allowing it to request much-needed funding to upgrade and enhance the buildings and infrastructure to ensure the safety and well-being of all the children and staff at the centre.

Jabulani and HERD (Hoedspruit Elephant Rehabilitation and Development) have taken steps to assist the daycare with various items, such as education games for the children, building painting, upgrades to the playground, and repairs and maintenance of their fences.

The daycare as an organisation covers the following main objectives:

1. Lay Early Childhood Cognitive Learning Foundation
2. Provide a conducive environment for 0 – to 5-year-old children’s development processes
3. Address malnutrition challenges since the majority of the children come from poverty-stricken families

Secondary Objectives

1. Create a safe and secure environment for children
2. Ensure children develop and grow in a healthy and hygienic environment
3. Provide a good quality education for developing children

One of the most important considerations for this daycare is the availability and need for water. At this stage, the school relies on regular water deliveries from a truck in the community, which comes in and fills a 5000-litre tank. This is the only water available to the school for cooking and drinking.

Being in the Lowveld, where we are lucky to have a fair amount of rain each summer, we have decided to assist in creating a sustainable way to harvest the water by providing a much larger tank and guttering that will be installed on the roofs. This water can be used for irrigation and help us change the bathroom facilities from current long drop type toilets to toilets that can then be flushed.

The roofs have suffered much damage during the last couple of rainy seasons. Severe leaks have caused the inside ceilings to collapse in two rooms. As part of our project, we are taking steps to assist them in waterproofing and fixing the main roofs and then replacing the ceilings, ensuring no more leaking in the classes.

Ivy does not ask much from the parents to take care of their children, although many of the parents are employed in lodges and reserves surrounding the community; Ivy herself supplies a lot of the food and nappies. It is important to us to assist in meeting the needs of this daycare. We are proud of the work that Ivy and her small team of dedicated staff do.

When you arrive at the school, Ivy always greets you with a beautiful smile and a positive attitude, no matter what. She is invested in the centre and believes in the work she does. For this reason, we continue to support her and are willing to take on the projects as they arise. Ivy’s husband is Obert Chauke, one of our dedicated butlers who ensures guests are always well looked after and have the most memorable stay.

On this Nelson Mandela Day, it is so important to celebrate and remember the love that Mandela had for the children of this country. Through his leadership all those years ago, he encouraged the growth of our younger generation, as this would be the future. These young children are the ones who will be caring for our wildlife and nature reserves in years to come, and they need to be nurtured and educated about the importance of the wilderness and its animals.

Should you wish to help the day care through donations, you can take a look at their wishlist here – or donate here: https://herd.org.za/product/xilaveko_day_care/

You are welcome to contact us for more information: media@jabulanisafari.com.