Mozambique: Support for children from poor families
When young children receive age-appropriate support, their chances of leading an independent life increase dramatically. At the preschool center run by the partner organization "Wona Sanana," girls and boys receive a solid foundation to succeed in school and in life.
Juvência has truly blossomed. The six-year-old has been attending Wona Sanana's program for three years. Little remains of the withdrawn child she once was. "Juvência was extremely shy and found it difficult to make friends. She was dependent for her age and couldn't express herself well," explains Alice Arone, an educator at Wona Sanana. In three rural communities in Mozambique, this long-standing partner organization Terre des Hommes offers a preschool program for girls and boys from impoverished families. The project is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
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Juvência's mother works at the market to support her family. There was hardly any time left for her youngest daughter, whose older brothers took on the responsibility of raising her. Age-appropriate enrichment activities were nonexistent for the girl. Her mother was all the more delighted when Juvência secured a place in preschool: "I thought preschool would be a good place to keep Juvência during the day so she wouldn't be home alone."
But Wona Sanana's program aims to do more for the children: It follows a holistic approach that involves the children's families and also considers aspects such as their nutrition and health. To ensure all measures are effective, the educators visit the children at home. "With Juvência, we saw just how important close support is," explains Arone. "Together with her mother and brothers, we developed a concept tailored to the family so that Juvência could learn effectively at home."
Juvência started school this year and is doing wonderfully in class so far. Her mother is thrilled with her daughter's developmental leaps: "She's made rapid progress. She speaks very well now, and she plays a lot." And her mother's pride is unmistakable: "My daughter is an intelligent girl."
Setting the right course through early childhood education
The majority of children in southern Africa do not attend kindergarten, where crucial foundations for social skills and later learning are typically laid. The lack of kindergarten attendance, coupled with inadequate nutrition, often leads to developmental delays. “Many girls and boys consequently experience difficulties in school later on. Gaps in early childhood development are almost impossible to overcome later,” explains Claudia Berker, Africa Program Officer at Terre des Hommes . “The foundations for future development are laid in early childhood. Therefore, Terre des Hommes supports projects in South Africa, Namibia, and Mozambique that promote healthy early childhood development.”