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Celebrating the 2025 LITASA/Shelley O’Carroll Award winners

Wordworks was honoured to once again take part in the 2025 LITASA Conference -an event that carried special meaning this year as both LITASA and Wordworks celebrated their 20th anniversaries.

The room was filled with dedicated organisations, individuals, and stakeholders who care deeply about the future of early learning.
Jointly presented by Wordworks and LITASA in honour of Dr Shelley O’Carroll, Wordworks’ founder and a pioneer in early language and literacy, the fourth annual Shelley O’Carroll Early Literacy Award recognised individuals and organisations whose work made a powerful impact on early learning across South Africa.

The award acknowledged excellence in two categories:

  • Under-Resourced Organisations or Individuals supporting ECD or early learning
  • Resourced Organisations or Individuals supporting ECD or early learning

A distinguished panel of adjudicators: Professor Eric Atmore, Dr Keshni Bipath, Ashnee Inderjith, Nadeema Musthan, Dr Shelley O’Carroll, and Wordworks’ Director, Mammuso Makhanyai reviewed nominations and selected the 2025 winners.

About the winners

Under-resourced category: Starfish Greathearts Foundation

The Under-Resourced Category award was presented to the Starfish Greathearts Foundation, a network that supports 14 community-based organisations across KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, and North West.

Starfish works in some of South Africa’s most remote and under-resourced communities, where access to early childhood development (ECD) resources and training was limited.

Recognising the need to strengthen early literacy outcomes, Starfish made significant progress in supporting local organisations to enhance their ECD programmes.

Through their work, ECD practitioners implemented effective literacy practices that led to measurable improvements in children’s language development.
Their initiatives also extended to parents and caregivers, building understanding of the importance of early literacy and strengthening the link between the classroom and the home.

Starfish’s commitment to expanding training in local languages reflected a deep dedication to sustainable, community-led change – values that lie at the heart of Shelley O’Carroll’s vision for early literacy.

Congratulations to the Starfish Greathearts Foundation for this well-deserved recognition! Learn more about the Starfish Foundation.

Resourced category: Bilkish Vawda of GROW with Pretty Palms Educare Centre

In the Resourced Category, the award recognised Bilkish Vawda of GROW with Pretty Palms Educare Centre for her exceptional contribution to early language and literacy development.

Through her centres in Umzinto and Bellair, Durban, and the practitioner forums she led, Bilkish created vibrant, language-rich learning environments that celebrated children’s home languages – particularly isiZulu and English while nurturing English literacy.

Her innovative approach included creating low-cost teaching aids from recycled materials, such as literacy cards, story bags, and play kits. This demonstrated how much could be achieved with creativity and commitment, even when resources were limited.

Bilkish’s work empowered ECD practitioners, inspired families, and helped children grow in confidence as they discovered the joy of reading, storytelling, and self-expression.

By sharing her learning through workshops, community events, parent sessions, and digital platforms, she extended her impact far beyond her own centres.
Congratulations to Bilkish Vawda for this outstanding achievement! Learn more about GROW ECD here.

As we celebrated these inspiring awardees, we also recognised the spirit of collaboration and dedication that drives South Africa’s early literacy movement.
Their work reminded us that with creativity, compassion, and commitment, we can build a nation where every child has access to quality early learning experiences.

Wordworks and LITASA remain committed to recognising and supporting excellence in early literacy as they continue to work together to advance learning for all young children.