OriginIn 1999 the Mandela Children’s Fund distributed 1000 of our toys to teachers throughout South Africa. We included a feedback form. One teacher wrote: "We love the toys but I’m teaching in a shack. Please send us a school!”
Those words inspired us to see how we could grant her wish. Since 2000 we have converted over 354 shipping containers into fully functional pre-schools and delivered Edutainers® throughout Africa.
The Bright Kid Foundation; an association not for gain in terms of section 21, was formed to facilitate the delivery of Edutainers® throughout South Africa. Bright Kid Foundation was registered in terms of the Nonprofit Organisations Act, 1997. Registration Number: 088-983 NPO. The Edutainer® Project relies on co-operation between Bright Kid Foundation, early childhood development Non Government Organizations (NGO's), donors and teachers. Bright Kid Foundation works with all major early childhood development NGOs in South Africa MissionThe Bright Kid Foundation believes that every child in South Africa has a right to quality pre-school education in a safe and learner-friendly environment, with access to educational toys and books that encourage an optimal learning experience, supervised by a trained teacher.
Bright Kid Foundation aims to supply Edutainer® pre-school classrooms and Edutainer® educational toy libraries to as many needy communities as our donations permit…GET INVOLVED CEO and FounderNicholas Jaff is founder and CEO of the Bright Kid Foundation, a non-profit organization, started in 2000. Bright Kid Foundation converts shipping containers primarily into pre-school classrooms called Edutainers®, which form part of Early Childhood Development Centres (ECDCs), delivered to rural areas throughout South Africa. The initial focus of Bright Kid Foundation was to improve the poor standard of Early Childhood Development in South Africa by delivering these Edutainers® (containers extensively converted in to fully equipped bright, insulated classrooms) to trained teachers mainly to rural communities in need. Since 2000, over 354 Edutainers® have been delivered throughout South Africa. To date over 57,000 children have graduated form the Edutainers® and 708 teachers have been trained. The ECDCs are designed to transform rural communities. The ECDC Edutainers® are fully equipped preschool for use in early learning. They include adult furniture so that after school hours, the Edutainers® can be used by adults and unemployed youth for training in employable skills.
To achieve the goals of the Bright Kind Foundation, and to ensure sustainability and community acceptance, Nicholas works closely and effectively with government departments, particularly the Department of Social Development, municipalities, recipient communities (civil society), non-profit organizations and private corporations. The ECDCs include the entire infrastructure required for registration and subsequent per child per day subsidy from the Department of Social development. USA donors include GE, Citigroup (30 Edutainer® classrooms), UPS, USAID. UNICEF has endorsed the ECDC project.
Nicholas has degrees from Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK, the Victoria University, of Manchester, UK, and Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA. He is a director of companies and serves on several boards.
TrusteesThe board of trustees are the following: Nicole Jaff (Chairperson)Nicole Jaff is a North American Menopause Society (NAMS) Certified Menopause Practitioner (NCMP), and a member of the Professional Board of Psychology (South Africa). She is a Menopause Counselor at the Wendy Appelbaum Institute for Women’s Health, Wits University Donald Gordon Medical Centre and a PhD Research Fellow with an interest in global women’s health issues. She is a trustee of the Helen Suzman Foundation and the Javett Foundation.Nicholas Jaff (CEO)Nicholas Jaff is founder and CEO of the Bright Kid Foundation, a non-profit organization, started in 2000. Bright Kid Foundation converts shipping containers primarily into pre-school classrooms called Edutainers®, which form part of Early Childhood Development Centres (ECDCs), delivered to rural areas throughout South Africa. The initial focus of Bright Kid Foundation was to improve the poor standard of Early Childhood Development in South Africa by delivering these Edutainers® (containers extensively converted in to fully equipped bright, insulated classrooms) to trained teachers mainly to rural communities in need.Since 2000, over 354 Edutainers® have been delivered throughout South Africa. To date over 57,000 children have graduated form the Edutainers® and 708 teachers have been trained. The ECDCs are designed to transform rural communities. The ECDC Edutainers® are fully equipped preschool for use in early learning. They include adult furniture so that after school hours, the Edutainers® can be used by adults and unemployed youth for training in employable skills.To achieve the goals of the Bright Kind Foundation, and to ensure sustainability and community acceptance, Nicholas works closely and effectively with government departments, particularly the Department of Social Development, municipalities, recipient communities (civil society), non-profit organizations and private corporations. The ECDCs include the entire infrastructure required for registration and subsequent per child per day subsidy from the Department of Social development. USA donors include GE, Citigroup (30 Edutainer® classrooms), UPS, USAID. UNICEF has endorsed the ECDC project. Nicholas has degrees from Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK, the Victoria University, of Manchester, UK, and Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA. He is a director of companies and serves on several boards. Lebogang RafoutLebogang (Lebo) Rafout is a Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BB-BEE) Specialist and has been in this field for nearly a decade, as an analyst in several BB-BEE verification agencies to being the overall BB-BEE manager in multinational firms. Lebo holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Wits University and a Post Graduate Diploma in BBBEE Management Development Program from the University of South Africa’s Graduate School of Business Leadership, she is the founder of the Good Works Projects, whose flagship initiative is Promoting Professions. Peter LeonPeter Leon is a partner with Webber Wentzel (in alliance with Linklaters), Johannesburg, where he heads the firm's mining regulatory practice. Outside South Africa, he has advised on resources issues in major African mining jurisdictions including Botswana, Ghana. Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. He has also advised the Nigerian government on its new mining code and provided similar advice in Eritrea. Sibusiswe NdlovuSibusiswe (Busi) Ndlovo is a Director in Accord Kalos Academy, a business consulting company, co- founded with her husband, consulting in the Public Service and NGO sectors. She has extensive experience in the field of education - from ECD to high school. She has a BA from UNISA, a BA Honours from University of Johannesburg (RAU), and a Diploma in Management Advancement Programme (MAP) from Wits Business School. Justine O'ReillySolicitor and Mediator, Justine is currently working as a Solicitor for the Legal Aid Commission in New South Wales, Australia, and as a Mediator at a Family Relationship Centre. She has an MBA from the University of Witswatersrand and a BA in Development Studies from Brown University.Sonja van der VyverSonja Brink (van der Vyver) a PhD Research fellow and an early childhood educationist and rural community development practitioner. Sonja has been involved as project manager in a whole-community development project, at a rural settlement for the past eight years. She also conducts research on educational linguistics and early reading acquisition – specifically on how these pertain to African children from resource-poor backgrounds. NonProfit Legal StructureThe Bright Kid Foundation is an association not for gain in terms of Section 21. It is registered in South Africa , registration number 2000/028269/08. It was registered on November 9th 2000.
Bright Kid Foundation was then also registered on 14 April 2011 in terms of the Nonprofit Organisations Act, 1997.Registration Number: 088-983 NPO. Bright Kid Foundation is audited by L Reyneke and Associates Inc., registration 95/00503/21.
They are located in Block A, First floor, Suite A-01, Elite Park Corner, Richard Drive and Suttie Avenue , Midrand, South Africa.
Bright Kid Foundation activity is governed by a Memorandum of Association of a Company section 54(1) Regulation 17(3) as per the Companies Act of the Republic of South Africa. Further information is available on request. |
2017 Impumelelo Social Innovations Platinum Award
Department of Social Development Endorsement
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Booktainer® Libraries
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