South Africa has a private option for almost everything but not for everybody. When it comes to the early childhood development crisis we need a different ‘private’ intervention. We must deliver early childhood development interventions from the bottom up, irrespective of race, religion, colour, class, registration status, political affiliation or provincial boundary. It’s unacceptable that there is only a small group of South Africans whose children have access to excellent early nutrition and learning. That is not enough. Early learning cannot be the preserve of an elite few.

We must start with our youngest, poorest citizens so that every small child can get basic nourishment of body and mind. This is the first step to a basic education and the key to breaking the cycle of poverty in South Africa. We believe that it can be done by the collective, the Helix Collective, bringing together the private sector and civil society to meet one common purpose, a bright future for our wonderful country.