Author - Common Good

Positive messages for parents to encourage early learning

  Despite strong evidence of the importance of early brain development impacting future flourishing of children, public awareness remains low. All parents need access to support and information to help them give their children the best start to life. As Vroom says, “Everyone has what it takes to be a better...

Resources and programmes for you to support families

We know it takes a village to raise a child. And it takes more than a church leader or volunteer to provide all the information, support and resources a family needs in order to thrive. This is why Sikunye encourages churches to partner with other service providers in their community...

When does spiritual growth begin?

When Sikunye surveyed 74 church leaders about God’s heart for young children, everyone agreed: God’s loves young children. When we asked, however, what church practices were in place to care for and support these young lives, less than half had activities aimed at this age group. And those that did...

1000 churches for the first 1000 days

In 2023 there will be just over a million births in South Africa – every life precious and brimming with potential. Tragically, it is estimated that up to half of these young ones do not consistently receive enough of what they need for their brains to build essential foundations. To...

Gratitude in 2022

We are grateful for the growth, change and movement forward. We are grateful to hear stories of moms, dads and young children who have benefitted as a result. This year, we have seen the number of churches who have committed themselves to caring for families in the first thousand days grow...

One of the privileges of the work we do is we get to meet passionate, amazing people from all over the country! After more than two years of being online and running events on Zoom, we returned to the Breede Valley. It was wonderful to meet and see people in...

Why does my church need a child protection policy?

We are reminded daily that we live in an unsafe world. This is especially true for children! We do many things to protect ourselves. We install burglar bars, alarm systems, high walls, locked doors, armed response, insurance and much more. And we hope and pray that someone does not break...

Child abuse: the church as a place of protection and healing

Abuse of women and children is happening in different forms in households across South Africa. And members of those households are sitting alongside us in our church services – whether as survivor, witness or perpetrator. At Sikunye we believe that the church can be the place of protection of children...

In August 2018 in a church in Khayelitsha, a new story was being written in the hearts of Thembinkosi Fati, his wife Bongiwe, and Siyabonga Maqina and his wife Cikizwa. Common Good was presenting its research into the opportunity for the local church in the critically important time of the...