What kind of person do you hope your child will be at age 25? Successful, perhaps. Kind. Mature. Resilient. Able to regulate their emotions and form healthy relationships. Now imagine that you’re so overwhelmed by daily life that you can’t even focus on that question. We find that’s true of many of the mothers we work with in South Africa. They simply don’t allow themselves to dream about their children’s future.
National surveys show that about a quarter of pregnant women report running out of money for food.[1][2] A similar percentage of children experience food poverty. Prolonged undernutrition in a child’s first 1,000 days, from conception to their second birthday, can lead to stunting. Height at 2 years is a strong predictor of human capital: stunting is correlated with a higher risk of illness, delayed learning, and lower income later in life. In South Africa, stunting is a national emergency: over 40% of children in those first 1,000 days, at the age of 18–23 months, have stunted growth, entrenching intergenerational poverty and inequality.
Scorgie, F., Blaauw, D., Dooms, T., Coovadia, A., Black, V. and Chersich, M. (2015) “I get hungry all the time”: Experiences of poverty and pregnancy in an urban healthcare setting in South Africa. Globalization and Health 11(37). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-015-0122-z
Smith, J. (2024) Hunger, poverty, and women: Report on households earning a living from agriculture in South Africa. HSRC Review 22(3): 2–5. Available at: https://hsrc.ac.za/news/food-security/hunger-poverty-and-women-report-on-households-earning-a-living-from-agriculture-in-south-africa/ (accessed January 2026).
South Africa’s caregiving burden rests heaviest on mothers in vulnerable situations. More than 83% of children in the lowest-income households are raised by single mothers, compared with only 25% in higher-income households. The law requires employers to give at least four months’ maternity leave, yet does not require this leave to be paid.
Public health services are overstretched. Antenatal and post-natal nurses carry high patient volumes and rarely have the capacity to provide the time, emotional support, and step-by-step guidance that pregnant women and new mothers need. There are also not enough community health workers to reach every vulnerable household with ongoing counselling.
The Grow Great Campaign fills this gap and recognises all those challenges – but still we start by asking mothers to reflect on their dreams for their children. Then we trace those dreams back to care in the first 1,000 days. Grow Great’s dream is of a South Africa where every child’s body and brain “grow great” from day one. Our mission, adopted in 2018, is to halve stunting by 2030 by equipping mothers and caregivers with knowledge, relationships, practical tools, and strengthened community healthcare.
South Africa’s 2030 Strategy for Early Childhood Development Programmes commits to stronger parental support, yet does not offer a clear implementation roadmap.[3] It lacks a clear plan for services for children from birth to age 2, focusing instead on centre-based services for children aged 3–5. These centres matter, but so do pregnancy and the first two years: some investment must shift upstream. If other countries can reduce stunting, the country that overcame apartheid can do so too.
Department of Basic Education of the Republic of South Africa. (2023) South Africa’s 2030 Strategy for Early Childhood Development Programmes. Pretoria: National Department of Basic Education of South Africa. Available at: https://www.education.gov.za/Portals/0/Documents/Publications/ECD/2030%20ECD%20Strategy%20Summary.pdf?ver=2024-04-12-124002-990 (accessed January 2026).
How parents Flourish in practice
No child can grow great if their caregivers are not doing great – but discussions about the first 1,000 days often focus only on the child and overlook the person who carries, gives birth to, and cares for that child. We chose mothers as our approach to reducing stunting because, in South Africa, for eight in ten young children the mother is the primary caregiver. Flourish is the parental support arm of Grow Great. We create in-person and online circles that bring pregnant and new mothers together, led by trained local facilitators we call Hosts. Since 2018, these groups have reached more than 54,000 mothers and babies in marginalised communities. Flourish comprises ten antenatal and nine postnatal classes over ten weeks, with a maximum of ten mums per class.
Sessions follow a structured curriculum grounded in both evidence and lived realities. We talk about practical matters such as immunisations, recognising danger signs, and when to seek help. We demystify feeding, sleep, maternal mental health, responsive caregiving, and play. We talk about the body and the mind. We make room for the hard days, and we normalise that grumpy, messy, and tired are part of motherhood.
Flourish teaches mums to treat play as serious learning – cuddles, giggles, songs and games wire the brain for language, attention and joy. We are exploring dedicated programming for fathers – while only a few mothers attend with their partners, we’ve seen that fathers often listen in during online sessions, learning just as much. When they do join the classes, they leave feeling energised, informed and grateful.
Peer networks grow organically: two years after classes end, 72% of mothers still keep in touch. WhatsApp groups offer reassurance at 2 a.m. and practical problem solving during the day, so a mother rarely grapples with a question alone.
Money shapes care
Our work is unapologetically practical about money. What a mother eats in pregnancy and while breastfeeding depends not only on her knowledge but on what she can afford. When money is tight, nutritious foods are replaced by cheaper foods that are filling but low in nutrients. Finances shape health: whether a pregnant woman has money for transport decides whether she books antenatal care or waits until something feels wrong.
Initially, our Hosts charged mothers R25 (€1.22) per class – the equivalent of just under one hour of minimum-wage work. However, we changed the model after participatory research showed that even these small fees excluded many mothers. When we found the funding to pay Hosts in full directly, participation nearly doubled, from 8,000 mothers in 2023 to 17,500 in 2024.
Financial stress also impacts maternal mental health, which drives the risk of stunting.[4] Financial support in pregnancy and while breastfeeding improves mental health, making it easier for mothers to rest, eat, breastfeed, and provide care without having to panic about the next meal. This is why we are advocating for a Maternal Support Grant in South Africa.
Rich, K., Engelbrecht, L., Wills, G. and Mphaphuli, E. (2025) Mitigating the Impact of intergenerational risk factors on stunting: Insights from seven of the most food insecure districts in South Africa. Maternal Child Nutrition 21(2): e13765. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13765
Flourish also unlocks entrepreneurship for mothers
We currently have 125 Hosts, and aim to increase the number to 625 Hosts, reaching 100,000 mothers annually by 2030. Hosts have often been through Flourish programmes themselves. They are selected for empathy, integrity, and facilitation potential. They complete ten weeks of training and receive continuous coaching.
Over the years we have trained more than 380 Hosts, who represent the diversity of South Africa and between them speak all 11 official languages. The skills and confidence they gain through their training and practice open up pathways for social mobility and leadership, strengthening the care economy. More than 90 Hosts have started enterprises or moved into better jobs, including six who work as coaches for Flourish, and also our logistics officer.
What changes for families
The changes we see in mothers and families through the programme are consistent and encouraging. Many mothers tell us they did not know a baby could thrive on breast milk alone for six months. When they discover that breastfeeding is a lifesaving, brainbuilding act of care, they share the message widely.
A 2022 survey of Flourish participants, conducted two years after the classes, found that nearly all had breastfed and 62% breastfed exclusively for the first six months, compared to the national average of 32%. Only 12% of their children were stunted at age 2, compared with the national average of over 32% at 24–35 months.[5][6]
National Department of Health (NDoH), Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and ICF. (2019) South Africa Demographic and Health Survey 2016. Pretoria and Rockville, MD: NDoH, Stats SA, SAMRC and ICF. Available at: https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR337/FR337.pdf (accessed January 2026).
Ikapa Data. (2023) Flourish Alumni Survey, 28 January 2022. Available at: https://growgreat.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Flourish-Endline-Report-final-copy-6.4.22.pdf (accessed January 2026).
In a 2024 survey after antenatal classes, 91% said they were prioritising their mental wellness by resting and seeking help, and 94% were prioritising their physical health by eating better, exercising, and reducing smoking or alcohol use. Surveys also show that after Flourish, 92% of mothers report feeling confident as a mother, 88% say they feel they can cope with parenting, and 91% say they have someone to talk to about pregnancy and early motherhood.
Life changing beyond metrics
We say to our mothers: hold on to that picture of your child at 25 – kind, mature, resilient, joyful. Now trace it back to a mother who breastfeeds with confidence, and understands the importance of playing and cuddling and singing songs with her baby. Trace it back to a mother who feels supported in her pregnancy and early motherhood, whether that’s by a partner, a grandmother, a neighbour, a community health worker, or fellow mums in a Flourish group.
Many women arrive in Flourish classes feeling overwhelmed and unsure. With community and care, they begin to dream again. Flourish rehumanises women who have been made to feel invisible by poverty and inequality. It reminds them that their dreams matter and that the dreams they have for their children are worth working towards.
Poverty steals more than food and comfort. It steals confidence, curiosity, and the sense that tomorrow can be different. In our circles, mothers say: “I thought I had to do this alone.” When those beliefs shift, homes change. Mothers feel seen. Babies are held more. Feeding becomes calmer. Partners begin to participate. The village wakes up.
