Mozambique: funding for children from poor families
If toddlers are promoted age -appropriate, their future chances of a self -determined life increase enormously. In the preschool center of the partner organization "Wona Sanana", girls and boys get a solid foundation to survive at school and in life.
Juvência has truly blossomed. The six-year-old has been attending Wona Sanana's program for three years. There's little trace left of the withdrawn child she once was. "Juvência was extremely shy and had a hard time making friends. She was dependent for her age and couldn't express herself well," says Alice Arone, who works as an educator at Wona Sanana. In three rural communities in Mozambique, the long-standing Terre des Hommes partner organization offers a preschool program aimed at girls and boys from poor families. The project is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
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Juvência's mother works on the market to get her family through. There was hardly any time for her youngest, whose older brothers took over her upbringing. There was no age -appropriate support for the girl. Her mother was all the happier when Juvência got a place in the preschool: “I thought the preschool was a good place to accommodate Juvência during the day so that she was not alone at home."
But Wona Sanana's program wants more for the children: it follows a holistic approach that includes the families of the children and also takes aspects such as their nutrition and health into account. So that all measures take effect, the educators visit the children at home. "At Juvência you just saw how important close accompaniment is," explains Arone. "Together with her mother and her brothers, we created a concept adapted to the family so that Juvência is able to effectively learn at home."
Juvência has been enrolled this year and has so far been wonderful in class. Her mother is enthusiastic about her daughter's leaps in development: "She quickly made progress. She now speaks very well and she plays a lot." And even the maternal pride can hardly be ignored: "My daughter is an intelligent girl."
The right places through early childhood education
The majority of children in southern Africa do not attend kindergarten, where important foundations for social behavior and later learning are usually laid. Lack of kindergarten attendance and a lack of proper nutrition often lead to developmental delays. "As a result, many girls and boys have problems in school later on. The gaps in early years are difficult to make up for later," says Claudia Berker, Africa Program Officer at Terre des Hommes . "The crucial foundations for future development are laid in early childhood. That's why Terre des Hommes supports projects in South Africa, Namibia, and Mozambique to promote healthy early childhood development."