About Us | Our Team | Donors & Sponsors - Ekukhanyeni Relief Project

I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy Rabindranath Tagore

Ekukhanyeni Relief Project transforms under-resourced early childhood development systems through quality learning, practitioner development, nutrition, food security, and community-rooted pathways that help children thrive.

Since 2005, Ekukhanyeni has worked in informal settlement communities in Johannesburg’s deep south, where access to quality early childhood care, education, and nutrition remains limited. Our work is rooted in the belief that children thrive when the systems around them are strengthened: the classroom, the practitioner, the centre, the family, and the wider community. We support ECD centres to become safer, more stimulating, and better equipped learning environments.

As an accredited training service provider, we develop practitioners through formal training, mentoring, and classroom-based support. We also strengthen pathways of nutrition, food security, school readiness, and community participation, creating a more holistic foundation for young children’s development.

Our approach is practical, relational, and deeply embedded in the realities of the communities we serve. We believe lasting change is built through trust, consistency, shared responsibility, and long-term commitment.

This gives food security its rightful place and positions accreditation as part of your capability, not just a credential.

Founder

Liza

Liza Rossi is the Founder of Ekukhanyeni Relief Project, a community-rooted organisation transforming early childhood development systems in under-resourced communities south of Johannesburg.

A former South African diplomat, Liza returned home with a deepening call to serve vulnerable children, women, and communities. Her journey began through voluntary work in impoverished communities, where she saw first-hand the urgent need for safe, nurturing, and developmentally rich spaces for young children.

In Lawley, Liza recognised that many children had little access to quality early childhood care and education. In response, she registered Ekukhanyeni and spent time living and working within the community to understand its realities, strengths, and needs from the inside.

What began as a grassroots response has grown into a sustained model of ECD transformation, strengthening centres, developing practitioners, supporting nutrition and care, and building community-rooted pathways that help children thrive.

Today, Liza’s founding vision continues to shape Ekukhanyeni’s work: lasting change is built from within communities, through quality learning, capable practitioners, and systems of care around every child.