At-risk children living in the Winelands are the recipients of a R4 million grant by the Walton Family Foundation.
Through a fund directed by James Walton, the Walton Family Foundation approved a grant to the Indaba Education Fund.
The Indaba Education Fund provides early childhood teacher training, learning materials and infrastructure to transform the education of young, at-risk children living in the Winelands.
Founder and chairperson of the Indaba Education Fund, Andre Shearer, said that the fund, started three years ago, is aimed at developing and nurturing young people at a Montessori level.
"We cater specifically to younger children at Montessori level because their earliest years of learning have a lasting impact on their later development.
"Research shows that the most rapid brain development in children occurs before the age of five. Therefore that is the most important learning period for a child," said Shearer.
The Indaba Education Fund was established by Cape Classics, who represent 29 wineries in South Africa.
Shearer said Cape Classics started the non-profit organisation through their work in wineries.
“We started looking at the abuse of alcohol and the effects it ultimately has on children and their development.
"The grant will assist the Indaba Education Fund in ensuring thousands of children will have better school preparedness, setting them up for future success and the opportunity to realise their dreams,” he said.
Research conducted by the Harvard University Centre on the Developing Child showed that in the first three years of a child's life, 700 new neural connections are formed every second.
Shearer explained: "The aim is to ensure that children can realise their full potential, broadening their career and life opportunities.
"We know that 50% of South Africans under five are subject to abject poverty and 70% of those under four don't have access to early childhood education.”
According to recent statistics, less than 50% of pupils who enrolled in Grade 1 in 2002, finished Grade 12 in 2014, and 60% of children under the age of four do not have access to any form of early childhood development programmes.
The teacher training takes place at the Indaba Montessori Institute near Stellenbosch.
In addition to their commitment to Montessori learning, the fund provides bursaries for hard-working young people.
“There is a dire need to provide children with access to a world-class foundation of learning,” said Shearer.