When the siblings Raeesa and Aneesa Hassim started the ECD Blossoming Minds in Lansdowne in 2019, they never dreamt of opening another one within five years.
“We all know the world came to a halt in March 2020 when Covid-19 hit and all ECD (Early Childhood Development) centres had to close down for safety reasons. Staff and children were in limbo until mid-2021 when we could re-open our ECD with a lot of rules and regulations. The past year we flourished in Lansdowne and this year we could open a second ECD in Wynberg,” says Aneesa, principal of Blossoming Minds in Lansdowne.
“We accept children from all surrounding areas and even have children from as far as Mitchell’s Plain. We have six staff members and 42 children at our Lansdowne branch and in Wynberg we only have four children and two staff members,” she says.
Being new in the ECD sector they rely a lot on Aziza Ebrahim, principal of Jumpstart Pre-school in Kenwyn.
“We met Ebrahim through the Lansdowne/Kenwyn/Rondebosch/Sybrand Park (LKRS) Forum and she has been an amazing force in our lives. She provides a wealth of information through her years of experience in the ECD sector. Ebrahim is also a facilitator at Northlink College and share information pertaining to child development with everyone at meetings of the LKRS Forum,” Aneesa says.
Hassim says they accept enrolments throughout the year dependent on space and they are currently busy with registrations for 2023.
“We cater for working parents and offer three collection times depending on the preference of the parents. On Friday 23 September we celebrated Heritage Day with a difference. Children were dressed up in Muslim attire and were treated to traditional Cape Malay treats,” she says.
On the tables were koesisters, bollas, jam tarts and biscuits in true Cape Malay fashion.
“Our next celebration will be our year-end concert in the fourth term and we are super excited for this event. Parents and children cannot wait for the concert and we will cater for everyone,” Aneesa says.
