Transforming Lives in Acornhoek | Xilaveko Day Care’s 2025 Projects

The Xilaveko Day Care Centre, located in Timbavati Village near Acornhoek, was founded in 2014 by Obert Chauke, a highly respected butler at Jabulani Safari, together with his wife, Ivy Sibuyi. Obert has been part of the Jabulani family for 16 years and is known for his kind, dedicated nature and unwavering positivity, loved by guests and colleagues alike.

The centre began in their own garage, born from Obert and Ivy’s wish to give back to their community and provide care and opportunities for children in need. Today, Xilaveko (meaning “nurture” in Tsonga) lives up to its name, offering a safe and loving environment for 112 children between the ages of 0 and 5.

With the support of generous donors and contributions through HERD and Jabulani, including goods-in-kind and monetary donations, the daycare has been able to expand and welcome more children, while also creating employment opportunities for people in the Acornhoek area.

This year, we are especially grateful to HERD donor and long-time Jabulani friend, Kim Bloomfield, whose contribution has supported several key projects at Xilaveko in 2025.

Project Highlights

Jungle Gym

A new Jungle Gym was installed to enhance physical activity and holistic development. The jungle gym provides children with opportunities to learn through play, developing coordination, strength, and social skills in a safe, engaging environment. Key components included:
• 12 x Swings with a 5.4 x 5.4 shelter, specially designed and built by a local Acornhoek supplier.
• 6 x loads of River sand. The sand was brought in and levelled underneath the Jungle Gym by our HERD Students and volunteers.
• 2 x pallets with blocks/bricks as well as 10 bags of cement, were purchased to build a retainer wall that will prevent soil from washing away.

Green House

Obert and Ivy requested a greenhouse instead of a traditional vegetable garden to protect crops from roaming animals.

Our HERD Students helped prepare and install the 6m x 3m x 2.5m greenhouse:
• 20 Tyres were collected and beautifully painted to be used as planting beds.
• Elephant Dung Compost was made and prepared as healthy soil for the inside of the tyres, where the seedlings were planted.
• 108 vegetable seedlings were sourced from a local supplier, Benica Farm. 18 x Spinach, 8 x Potatoes, 42 x Onion, 12 x Tomatoes, 12 x Cabbage, 16 x Beetroot. Watermelon seedlings were additionally sponsored by Benica Farm, for which we are very grateful.
• Benica Farm’s founder, Bennedicter Mhlongo, visited the Day Care Centre on the installation day and provided training for teachers and volunteers to maintain the greenhouse and ensure a sustainable source of fresh, organic vegetables for the children. We will share more about our partnership with Benica Farm in our next blog.

The Greenhouse greatly benefits the daycare centre and will be a reliable source of fresh, healthy organic vegetables for the children, to ensure they can offer nutritious meals while teaching the kids where their food comes from. The greenhouse also provides hands-on learning experiences for the children as they grow older, allowing them to explore nature, develop responsibility, and enjoy sensory experiences through planting and harvesting.

Shelves for Storage

There was a significant need for storage shelves, as they lacked sufficient shelves to store various items that were needed and used daily, and to ensure that these items were not just lying on the floor unprotected.

We reached out to the local supplier who also assisted us with the Jungle Gym, and he built 3 x Steel Shelves 2.3m x 2.6m and 1 Shelve 2m x 1.2m for the centre.

Educational Toys

Education is essential, and the Day Care centre lacked a variety of toys to support the learning of the children. To help address this, a range of educational toys, puzzles, and other learning materials, along with storage containers, was purchased and delivered to enhance their educational experience.

Playtime was turned into a powerful learning environment and experience. As these educational toys were also from the Montessori module and range, children are developing essential skills in problem-solving, coordination and concentration. These toys allow children to learn at their own pace while building confidence and curiosity, promoting creativity, social skills, and a lifelong love of learning.

Sandpit

A sandpit might look like simple fun, but it is actually a rich learning environment. Therefore, a wooden folding sandpit was also purchased for the Day Care Centre. Playing outside with sand and toys encourages creativity, exploration and problem-solving. As kids dig, pour, scoop, and build, they develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and spatial awareness. The sandpit can be closed to ensure the sand is protected from rain, animals and debris.

Borehole & Water Tank Update

In October 2024, we received a donation for a borehole that was drilled at Xilaveko Day Care Centre from another amazing donor, Mariano Gomide de Faria. We reached water at 70m, but drilled futher to 100m! As the school lacked access to water, the borehole has provided tremendous assistance over the past year, ensuring a reliable and sustainable source of clean water, which is essential for the children’s health and daily needs.

Thanks to the generous donation from Kim Bloomfield, a 4.5m steel tank with a top steel casing was installed for the borehole, ensuring a reliable supply of clean water.

We appreciate our donors for making this possible, and having such a big impact on our community.

Nutritious Food

Children need good nutrition and wholesome food to grow, learn, and play. Without energy from healthy meals, they can become tired, inattentive, and less able to engage in activities that support their development. Proper nutrition fuels their brains and bodies.

Therefore, over the last few months, with the help of Kim’s funds, the children have been receiving a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, which are also delivered from Benica Farm on a monthly basis, as well as a range of dry goods from local suppliers.

The following are some of the food items purchased with the donation for the Day Care Centre’s children that they need monthly for the children:

• Dry Goods (Maize Meal, Mabella Porridge, Eggs, Soya Mince, Milk, Rice, Pilchards, Cooking Oil, Tomato Sauce, Macaroni, Spaghetti, Tea Bags, Creamer, Brown Sugar)
• Fresh Fruit & Vegetables (Apples, Bananas, Cabbages, Onions, Tomatoes, Green Peppers, Potatoes, Beetroot, Butternut, Carrots)

Currently the day care centre enrolls and serves 112 children:

• 17 aged 0 – 18 months
• 39 aged 3 – 4 years
• 56 aged 4 – 5 years.

We are incredibly grateful to our donors and supporters whose generosity has made this impact possible. Together, we continue to empower the community by providing nutritious food, quality education, and opportunities for growth, while instilling the values of conservation and environmental care.

If you would like to get involved with our community projects, please do not hesitate to contact our team at pr@herd.org.za or admin@herd.org.za.