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Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, Senior Reporter 

SINCE March has been set apart to celebrate women and highlight their struggles as they continue in their journey to success, so little has been said about the childcare crisis — which remains one of the stumbling blocks to women’s economic emancipation. 

From juggling hectic work schedules and sticking to work-related deadlines, women often fail to balance their lives as they are solely responsible for the care of their little ones, from birth until they are at least 12 years old. 

While finding reliable, effective and sane house helpers has been a nightmare for many women in Zimbabwe, Ms Mariana Dhliwayo decided to start a daycare centre to cater for the modern woman who may fail to meet her personal goals due to the unending list of things to be done. On average women spend 45 minutes more than men daily on paid and unpaid work and typically undertake 75 percent of childcare responsibilities according to studies. 

However, care responsibilities not only reduce possibilities for female education and inhibit labour force participation, they also affect the types of jobs women do, how productive they are and how much they earn. 

Where women do not work or forfeit more productive opportunities owing to these obligations, the cost is immense — both in terms of their potential and in terms of the economic cost to societies.

Ms Dhliwayo who said she is a proud mother of three boys found her love for children during her youthful days at church. 

“I used to teach the younger children aged 5 to 12 how to dance and only later I began to realise how much I enjoyed being around children. With my love for kids, I began to search out what career paths to venture into, that can involve children and instantly the idea to run a pre-school came to mind,” she said. 

“I began dreaming and talking about my vision. In 2014 I started sowing seeds into the business. I started gathering information, buying toys, going on Google to get more information on how to run a daycare or a preschool. I approached the authorities and they gave me the go-ahead and managed to start with the measly resources that were at my disposal.” 

In 2016, she quit her job, making a bold decision to opt for a retrenchment package to start Mommy’s Day Care. 

“The daycare opened its door in January 2017 with a vision to nurture, care and protect children from ages six months to six years. We provide an environment that is a home away from home, a space where children can come and play with other children, but in an environment that is relaxed and homely,” said Ms Dhliwayo. 

“We had in mind those mothers who often have headaches about house helpers not appearing for work, mothers who just needed time out, those who just need a few hours to do errands and be back in an hour or two.” 

Her dream has also birthed a primary school currently catering for Grades ECD A up to Grade Two. 

“Since we had the modern working woman in mind, we offer pre-school curriculum Pre-ECD, ECD A and ECD B; daycare services for children aged from six months to six years; swimming, gymnastics and chess. We also have after-school care services for Grade Ones up to Seven, hourly care, daily care and holiday just to ensure that women get that extra time to meet their goals without worrying about childcare.” 

Besides giving mothers a chance to get on with their jobs and errands stress-free, Ms Dhliwayo said she enjoys welcoming the children to the school and engaging in interesting conversations with them. 

“Sometimes just listening to the children as they tell stories about their weekends and everything that happens at home is all I need to get by. The highlight for me is seeing children being groomed to be the best they can be according to their areas of gifting. It’s always rewarding to see them transformed under our care and that for us is an amazing achievement,” she added. 

Like other institutions, Ms Dhliwayo’s pre-school was affected by Covid-19, a development which saw her transforming it into an infant school. 

“We realised that there was an opportunity to grow the pre-school into an infant school and from there with the idea of becoming a primary school. In 2021 we opened up our first-ever Grade One class, which had 2 students, in 2022 we grew and the rest is history. We felt that the name Mommy’s Daycare was not going to do justice so through the parents of our school, a new name was birthed which is Royal Harvard Infant School,” said Ms Dhliwayo. 

She said as women continue forcing their way into economic development, they should never lose hope as it has been proven that despite challenges and responsibilities, women always emerge victors.

“I do know the hustles and struggles of motherhood; trying to find a house helper who is trustworthy with your kids, trying to find a safe place to leave your child for an hour or two while you do your errands. The idea of daycare is fast becoming the best option for your child and this is why I encourage every woman mother out there to consider safe daycares for children since we live in this fast-paced world,” she said. 

Children need to interact with other peers in a safe environment; they need to be outdoors, playing and building sand castles to exercise their gross motor skills. Indoors they do different activities to build up their fine motor skills. With such facilities I know that many women will be able to go out there chasing their dream jobs, work hard in improving the economy knowing very well they have given their children the best childhood ever.”  — @thamamoe