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Summer Update 2025

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Over the past few months, your support has enabled our programmes to make meaningful progress in healthcare, education, nutrition, and social welfare. Thanks to your generosity, we’ve been able to reach some of South Africa’s most vulnerable communities, bringing vital care, dignity, and hope where it’s needed most. We are deeply grateful for your continued commitment, and we’re delighted to share some of the life-changing impact your support has made possible this quarter.

Where Are Our Partners?

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The Wellness Wagons

Our Wellness Wagons continue to play a vital role in rural South Africa, delivering life-saving healthcare to children and families in hard-to-reach areas. Staffed by professional nurses, the wagons visit schools, ECD centres, and homes to reach those with limited access to healthcare.

In the face of rising demand—caused in part by international funding cuts and the closure of other services—your support has never been more critical. This quarter, the Wellness Wagons have worked closely with local partners to promote healthcare education, helping to reduce cases of severe malnutrition and parasitic infections.

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The Numbers

Despite the challenges of flooding and high winds this quarter, our teams have worked tirelessly to keep programmes running. Thanks to your support, the Wellness Wagons have continued to deliver a powerful impact, including:

280 home visits conducted by our nursing team

4164 HIV tests conducted, with positive cases referred for care

5,324 children reached through community screenings at schools and clinics across South Africa

Our health team have been working in partnership with local organisations to promote quality healthcare education and information about common conditions. We are pleased to report that since this push on healthcare education, conditions like severe malnutrition and worms are now more rarely seen by our healthcare team.

Maternal Health Programme

Our maternal health programme provides support, resources, and group sessions to families. In response to the HIV crisis, which poses significant risks during pregnancy, we work alongside local clinics and have implemented the First 1000 Days programme, which seeks to take care of both mother and child in the first 1000 days of a child’s life.
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Our Activities this Quarter

Over the last few months, we have been continuing to provide essential services to families. These include:

  • Running the pregnancy centre - offering antenatal classes, mums and tots groups, counselling, and fathers’ support groups.
  • Home visits - helping mothers, children and families who need support but are unable to visit the centre.
  • Nutritional support - providing food relief, nutritional support and education about nutrition to families.

As well as these ongoing activities, we recently received a visit from a local clinic who came to discuss contraception, give immunisations, provide vitamins/de-worming medication and conduct cervical screenings. This was a very useful service to local women and it was great to see the clinic support our work and collaborate with us to serve the community.

The Numbers

Across this last quarter, our maternal health programme has:

  • Supported 735 children 
  • Provided 250 home visits
Stories from our Maternal Health Centre

Atlehang's Story

Atlehang is a young baby who recently joined one of our Early Childhood Development centres after being found abandoned. She was malnourished and withdrawn, but has since begun to thrive in the loving care of our team. Staff report she now feeds well, is gaining weight, and even responds with smiles and giggles to those around her. Her transformation is a reminder of how safety, nutrition, and affection can begin to heal even the most vulnerable.

A story from Okhahlamba

During a home visit in Okhahlamba, our team met a young child who is deaf and non-verbal. Previously isolated and struggling to engage in school, the child and their family were unaware of available support. Thanks to a referral from our nurse, the child is now being assessed for specialised education and therapy. For the first time, their family feels hopeful about a future that embraces rather than excludes them.

Education and Social Welfare

Starfish works with crèches to foster quality early childhood education and development. Studies have shown that the early years of a child’s life are imperative to their development and ability to succeed in adulthood, which is why our centres work to give children the best start in life so that they can thrive when they leave our care.

Our early childhood development centres and community partners are able to work with our social welfare team. This means they can help if a child lacks official documents needed to access education, or step in if there are more serious welfare concerns.

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New learner - Ayanda

Nkosana is an 8-year-old boy who was only two weeks old when he was found abandonded in a local town. Fortunately, social workers found him and brought him to a foster carer, who has raised him ever since. Over time, Nkosana’s challenges continued. There were delays in applying for a childcare grant because he had no birth certificate. Then, doctors discovered he had a disability which affects his movement. With a diagnosis, doctors were able to write a letter supporting a disability grant application, which has now been accepted. This support comes just at the right time.

As our centre opens its first disability clinic, Nkosana is able to get the support he needs. Now, his future is bright because of the people who came together to help.

A story from Gauteng

One of our social workers recently assisted a 7-year-old boy who had been living without formal documentation, making it difficult for him to access education and support services. After months of advocacy, the team was able to secure the necessary paperwork and enrol him in school. His teacher now describes him as “curious and full of potential.” Thanks to the support provided by your generous donations.

Nutrition

In the impoverished areas our ECDs serve, the reality is that these centres are not just places of early childhood development, but also of childhood survival. The nutrition programme rolled out to Starfish’s educational partner centres ensures that all children receive healthy meals with the right nutrients to support their growth.
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Feeding Bodies and Minds


Across our ECD centres, children received 63,885 balanced meals over the reporting period, ensuring that every child had access to nutritious food that supports their physical and cognitive growth. Staff have become more confident in preparing varied, healthy meals thanks to ongoing training and the sharing of recipes tailored to local ingredients.

One caregiver noted:

“We see a difference in the children when they eat well—they are more energetic and ready to learn. The training has helped us prepare meals that not only fill their stomachs but also help them grow strong and healthy.” — ECD Caregiver, KwaZulu-Natal

 

Sipho’s Story

Sipho is a 3-year-old boy whose teacher noticed he was constantly tired and losing weight. After speaking with his grandmother, the team discovered that he often went without food due to household poverty. Our team provided emergency food parcels and enrolled Sipho in the daily feeding scheme at the crèche. He’s now visibly more energetic and engaged in learning.

 

Community Support

 

Our community centre continues to provide extensive support to people in the local area. This last quarter, we have continued to run our ECD and provide support to six outlying crèches.

The Art Programme

This quarter, children in the art programme experimented with recycled materials to create colourful collages and mobiles. The programme’s focus on eco-art not only nurtured creativity but also introduced children to sustainability in a fun, hands-on way.

Manqoba's Story

Manqoba, 23, attends Woza Moya’s arts programme and uses creativity as a tool for emotional healing. Known for his leadership and kindness, he helps others explore new techniques while also using art to process his own emotions. His story shows how safe, creative spaces can support mental health and build confidence at any age

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The Good Guys Club

The Good Guys Club is a place where boys can come together and learn leadership and teamwork skills. The project aims to tackle gender-based violence by educating and empowering young boys in the community. This quarter, the boys in the programme have discussed future career ideas, competed for the leadership badge, and explored their rights and responsibilities in school, at home, and in the programme.

Swelihle’s Success

Swelihle, 16, joined the Good Guys Club in 2017. Known for his discipline and leadership, he mentors younger boys, leads the soccer team, and recently won a 400m race against older community members. He’s now in Grade 10 and achieving academic success. His story shows the power of youth mentorship, confidence, and positive male role models.

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Clean Water Access

And the data on childhood deaths caused by diarrhoea.
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A Difficult Challenge

Unfortunately, many of the young children Starfish cares for become ill from a lack of clean water. The issue arises from heavy rains, which destroy mud houses and contaminate streams. With damaged homes, it becomes even harder for families to protect their children’s health and keep them safe. Our community partners are teaching families how to purify water, but sometimes these simple methods are not enough to make the water safe to drink. We urgently need to help provide families with access to clean and safe drinking water, so please do consider continuing to support this basic and unmet need.

Child in muddy water

Thank you!

Thank you to all our donors who have made change possible this quarter. We couldn’t do it without you.