goGOGOgo is a South African-based non profit company (NPC) working with grandmothers raising children. Nearly 8 million children live in grandparent-headed households, with the majority of these households led by grandmothers – locally known as gogos. With a third of the country’s youth raised in their care, the concept of a caregiver is incomplete without acknowledging the provisions, support and love of grandmothers.

 

One of our projects, GOGOcare, addresses a critical gap in maternal and child health interventions in South Africa by recognising the vital role of grandmothers in the antenatal and perinatal stages of a child’s development. Poverty, malnutrition, and disrupted caregiving pose significant risks to early childhood development, especially in an unequal society where access to healthcare, education, and support services is systemically interrupted. Caregivers are crucial to mitigating these risks and supporting a child’s growth, but cultural and social dynamics shape how the parental role is defined, and to whom its responsibilities are given.

 

Aim

 

By providing grandmothers with access to current best practice maternal and child health information using appropriate and culturally sensitive resources and fostering supportive networks, GOGOcare aims to enhance maternal and child health outcomes.

 

Methodology

 

The GOGOcare intervention is a collaboration with Flourish, a programme created by Grow Great, which offers community-based perinatal support and information classes to pregnant women and mothers. Following formative research to identify areas of maternal and child health interest conducted with ten grandmothers living with grandchildren under three years or pregnant daughters/ granddaughters, the Flourish curriculum for mothers was adapted and three Flourish hosts were trained to facilitate 10 adapted sessions with thirty grandmothers in three communities across Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

 

 

Objectives

Through a 10-week course delivered by trained facilitators, GOGOcare seeks to build the capacity of grandmothers as third-generation caregivers, with each session focusing on a critical point of the curriculum. Topics included newborn nutrition, child and maternal health, changes in pregnancy, exclusive breastfeeding, mental health support and the importance of play. Monitoring and evaluation data were collected through interviews at baseline and upon completion of the sessions.

 

Results

The formative research demonstrated the importance of grandmothers in child raising and their interest in wanting to attend sessions on maternal and child health. Grandmothers attending sessions have expressed strong support for the programme and have embraced the opportunity to participate and learn.

 

Results from the pilot include increased maternal and child health knowledge among grandmothers leading to improved care and support for new families and enhanced health outcomes for the babies, mothers and grandmothers. Grandmothers play a vital role in child health and want to be part of it. Crucially, new mothers also expressed an improvement in their relationship with their mothers who participated in the programme through endline surveys, highlighting the multigeneration impact of the pilot. Based on our findings, we believe providing grandmothers with information on current best practices in maternal and child health is likely to improve maternal and child health outcomes.

Valerie Mathandeki

Valerie Mthandeki holds a BA in Education from Walter Sisulu University and a Diploma in Education Management from the University of Pretoria.

Valerie served in the Department of Education as an educator for over 10 years before pursuing a career in the private sector at Old Mutual, Sanlam and Bytes Document Solutions, among others.

Her passion for community building and people saw her transition to the NGO space, where she worked as a coach and facilitator for Flourish’s Grow Great Campaign, aimed at mobilising government, business and civil society to invest in national change and public health outcomes related in particular to improved child nutrition. She served in this role for seven years, facilitating support networks for women and empowering new mothers through the first 1000 days of their children’s lives.

Valerie has also served as a Field Researcher, conducting studies and collaborating on various projects, including Lifeline, MAFISA, Tshwane Municipality NDP, Women in Mining and International Youth Fund programs. She facilitated two pilot projects for goGOGOgo related to sexual health for older persons (SHOP) and the role of grandmothers in the antenatal and perinatal stages of a child’s development.

 

Nkanyiso Khumalo

Nkanyiso Khumalo is a dynamic Project Manager, Community Development Strategist, and Language Practitioner with over 13 years of experience leading impactful programmes. With academic grounding in linguistics, organisational psychology and public and development management, he brings a multidisciplinary lens to leadership.

He has delivered large-scale, multi-stakeholder initiatives in early childhood development, elder empowerment, digital literacy and language education. His expertise includes strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, curriculum development and stakeholder engagement. Key projects include Kuyakhanya, iGOGO, GOGOCare and Masikhulume GOGO – programmes that empower grandmothers and communities through education and communication.

Currently Project Manager at goGOGOgo, Nkanyiso oversees Community Play Facilitators, ECD centre owners, service teams and stakeholders under the Kuyakhanya Project. He also supports training development and builds strategic partnerships. Previously, he spent over a decade at Wits Language School coordinating language programmes, mentoring educators and lecturing in communication.

He holds a BA Honours in Linguistics and African Languages (cum laude), a Postgraduate Diploma in Public & Development Management and is completing his Master’s at Wits University. Passionate about social innovation and sustainable development, Nkanyiso thrives in roles that uplift underserved communities and drive lasting impact.

 

Jane Simmonds

Ms Jane Simmonds is a dedicated public health specialist and social activist committed to driving community-level change. She holds a Master of Public Health in Social Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) from the University of the Witwatersrand. Jane currently works at the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and is the Founder and Executive Director of goGOGOgo, a non-profit organisation focused on empowering grandmothers (“gogos”) who are primary caregivers of children.

 

At the SAMRC, Jane has contributed significantly to public health initiatives. She has worked extensively in the older persons sphere as the project manager for a qualitative study on the polypill to address cardiovascular disease in older persons and a hypertension screening study conducted in social grant queues in collaboration with the MRC/Wits Agincourt Research Unit.

 

Through goGOGOgo, Jane leads programmes to promote grandmothers as agents of change improving outcomes for both caregivers and children. Key initiatives include health initiatives for older persons, addressing the “grey divide’ by providing digital technology training and promoting intergenerational conversations related to gender based violence, sexual reproductive health, pregnancy and childcare.

 

Jane’s work reflects a deep commitment to intergenerational health, education, and empowerment, bridging research and community engagement with lasting social impact.