Through the Hands-on Learning publication, we hope to play a helpful role in synthesising information from innovators and implementers in civil society, supporting them to share what they have learnt so that others can draw from and build on their experiences.
How our unsung heroes can reduce stunting
The care and nutrition that mothers and children receive during the first 1 000 days of a child’s life play a crucial role in shaping their growth and learning trajectory. But South Africa is facing a malnutrition crisis, with recent figures revealing one in four has limited access to food. Malnutrition is one of the major drivers of stunting – a (largely preventable) condition where young children are too short for their age and do not reach their full growth potential due to chronic nutritional deprivation, often made worse by repeated infections. The country has a persistently high stunting rate, with more than a quarter of children under five years of age affected.
This learning brief looks at how Grow Great, Philani and One To One Africa (OTOA) are supporting community health workers with the training and equipment they need to prioritise maternal and child health and reduce malnutrition.
To read this learning brief, download a PDF, or read it magazine-style on ISSUU here.
Building buzzing brains
By age five a child’s brain is 90% of adult size; in the early years children form ~50% more neural connections than adults, later pruned—foundations for learning and behaviour. ECD is therefore critical. Yet in South Africa only two-thirds (68%) of 3–5-year-olds attend group programmes, leaving one in three without vital stimulation. Many operate in rural areas with scant resources; families paid ~R14 billion in 2020, with over a quarter (R3.7 billion) from the poorest 60%.
This learning brief looks at how DGMT’s ECD Connect app can help early learning programme providers to thrive, so they can give children the strongest possible start. Just as ‘serve-and-return’ interactions strengthen neural pathways, a dynamic digital network can unlock practitioners’ potential by connecting them to one another and to rich learning resources, improving quality, efficiency and support where it’s needed most.
To read this learning brief, download a PDF, or read it magazine-style on ISSUU here.
DGMT’s approach to scaling and the lessons along the way
Scaling, expanding impact to reach more people, influence systems or shift norms, is not just making projects bigger. In complex South African contexts, it demands new thinking, strategic partnerships, and readiness to adapt to shifting politics and economics. For DGMT, scaling is core to its mission: unlocking the “10 opportunities to escape the inequality trap” and shifting national outcomes in early learning, youth employment, and social inclusion.
This learning brief examines DGMT’s journey of mainstreaming scaling within its organisational strategy. It outlines the mindsets, mechanisms and partnerships that have enabled scale, and unpacks three practical examples that illustrate different pathways: a focused policy device, an ecosystems approach, and a political approach to national mobilisation for children and teens. The aim is to share lessons that other civil society actors and funders can adapt when moving from promising pilots to population-level impact.
To read this learning brief, download a PDF, or read it magazine-style on ISSUU here.
Read the complete issue below magazine-style on ISSUU – choose full-screen mode [ ] for a better reading experience. Download the complete Hands-on Learning publication (Issue 31) as a PDF.
