---
title: "Early Childhood Development at the Foundation of Building a Community"
description: "The Cape Winelands are a foodie’s dream, serving up tantalising farm-to-table produce from expansive farms along the N1 to luxury restaurants and local stalls alike."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Sponsored Content"
author: "Shoprite"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/shoprite/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-11-02-early-childhood-development-at-the-foundation-of-building-a-community/"
published: "2019-11-02T09:05:12"
updated: "2019-11-04T09:10:59"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 237
---

# Early Childhood Development at the Foundation of Building a Community

> The Cape Winelands are a foodie’s dream, serving up tantalising farm-to-table produce from expansive farms along the N1 to luxury restaurants and local stalls alike.

By Shoprite · Published 2 November 2019, 11:05 SAST · Updated 4 November 2019, 11:10 SAST

## Content

Despite lying just ten kilometres outside the popular Boland town of Worcester, the small community of Avian Park is unlikely to feature on any tourism map. Here, small rows of houses cluster on streets more dust than tar. Men lounge intermittently at intersections eyeing up passers by, women walk quickly in groups. Although there is a library, nobody enters: it sits at the intersection of rival gang territories.

Communities just like Avian Park are dotted throughout the Winelands. Unemployment is chronic, but some residents find occasional work as farm labourers. The irony is palpable: those who can secure seasonal work oftentimes find themselves harvesting or selling food that isn’t available to their own families.

In recognition of the vital connection between people and produce, companies like the Shoprite Group are stepping in. With five supermarkets in the vicinity and many employees from Avian Park, they’ve adopted a long-term approach to community development: a commitment to fostering sustainable living practices and robust community structures that keep food on everyone’s table.

Ursula Williams—Aunty Ursula, as she’s known—runs Mother of Many, an Early Childhood Development (ECD) centre in Avian Park that’s one of four in the area supported by the retailer.

Williams is well versed in adapting to the daily realities of gang fights during the day. “When that happens we make the music loud so they can’t hear the bullets. We dance, we clap, anything to distract the kids.”