STEPi in Partnership with Nelson Mandela University

With literacy, transformative education, and a desire to strengthen communities, and build parent and teacher resilience, front and centre, Nelson Mandela University recently signed an agreement with Utopia Foundation and Squaring the Education Pyramid Institute (STEPi) to help transform education and elevate the importance of early childhood development.

In addition, the agreement aims to help build a learning and teaching community to support schools, early childhood development, parenting skills, and family well-being, by nurturing a teaching and learning-with-love culture. 

STEPi founder and Mandela University Honorary Professor, Paul Sutherland said a donation of more than R1 million was made through Utopia Foundation to support the creation of online certificate courses, seminars, and printed and online educational resources to support Parenting and Teaching with Love, learning, and teaching community. 

“The courses will focus on enhancing literacy, transformative education, cultural awareness, happiness and well-being, creativity, cognitive development, building relationship and communication skills, early childhood development, parenting skills, and building resilience and purpose through character education. The donation will also build on the work of the Nelson Mandela University Centre for Community Technologies (CCT) and STEPi to develop and distribute transformative printed and online teaching aids to schools, communities, parents, and teachers. 

CCT Director and Nelson Mandela University Project lead, Prof Darelle van Greunen said that Nelson Mandela University started working with Utopia Foundation in 2020 during Covid when 25,000 STEPi books were distributed to 10 000 learners in fourteen Eastern Cape township schools. 

“The books, accompanied by postcards to help the learner build resilience and happiness, were placed in elegantly woven “Book Bags” each with two STEPi books written in Africa, edited, and illustrated in Africa, printed in South Africa, and culturally inspired by Africa. 

“The feedback we received from principals, teachers, parents, and children who benefited from the books was profound. We are excited that the CCT team and other collaborators such as the Faculty of Education will be working with Professor Paul [Sutherland] and the Utopia/STEPi team here on our campus.”

Utopia Foundation’s executive director, Zaharah Namanda, commented on the partnership from her office in Kampala, Uganda. 

“Utopia is excited to work with the Centre for Community Technologies as this will support programmes that are already in place throughout Africa. Working together will help us find partners, and work with other universities, Government Agencies, NGOs, and grant-making entities to expand our culturally relevant, powerful, practical, innovative, as local as possible, transformative approach into all of Africa and the African Diaspora living overseas.” 

*Utopia Foundation’s mission is to help create a world where communities thrive and every person goes to bed feeling nourished, loved, happy, and hopeful about tomorrow. Utopia Foundation believes in being examples of right practices, values, virtue, character, and getting things done.

* Squaring The Education Pyramid Institute (STEPi) is a literacy programme under the Utopia Foundation. The STEPi manifesto is inspired by the belief to “square the pyramid” which means each child should have equal access to the same resources as those born into privilege.