Sunshine Centre Association

SCA runs an array of activities in their Early Intervention Programme for disabled children that cater to their and their families’ specific needs. This includes a daycare service for 15 months to 10-year-old children, and a toy library that lends toys for the children to ensure continuity of the stimulation and development of the child at home. If children are too young to be accommodated in the daycare programme SCA also offer a home-based family support programme. What many support structures lack in the disability sector is a holistic approach whereby parents and family members’ development is also addressed. SCA runs a siblings programme that trains siblings of the disabled in life skills, offering peer counseling and runs holiday programmes. Parents are also provided with capacity building training such as income-generation skills, how to manage their child’s disability, and are assisted with securing a governmental disability grant. SCA also has a comprehensive training division that works according to the project’s START model and this is used in their family intervention programmes. Their staff is extensively trained in ECD and the organization actively maintains a research and development unit. SCA has fostered financial partnerships with the following agencies, the Department of Social Development, The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and various private sector trusts including the FNB Fund. The parents of these children also play a vital role and many of them are trained as early intervention practitioners and are employed by SCA.    

Innovation

With 4% of the population estimated to have disabilities but only 1.36% of children with disabilities being enrolled in ECD provision; projects like SCA are needed especially in impoverished areas that don’t have access to health facilities.

Effectiveness

There are 200 children that are reached by the daycare services and the home-based family support programme sees to 100 children. SCA’s sibling programme reaches 200 siblings and 400 parents are part of the capacity building training. 

Poverty Impact

Although SCA is not geared directly to poverty alleviation, its services are targeted to impoverished families that have a disabled member. 25 parents have been trained as Early Intervention Practitioners.       

Sustainability

SCA's budget is largely (73%) funded by the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and they have agreed to fund a three-year programme and totals on R3 million. 5% is sourced from the Department of Social Development, and the rest from various corporate sources that include FNB Fund and Anglo American Chairman’s Fund

Replication

SCA’s model of early childhood intervention for disabled children and their families is important to addressing the exclusion of such persons from society and the inadequate support structures available to indigent families that have a disabled member.  

Partnerships

•  Department of Social Development
•  Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund
•  First National Bank Fund
•  Anglo American Chairman’s Board