South Africa: Successful program for early childhood education
The situation of many young people in the townships of Nelson Mandela Bay is characterized by poverty and lack of prospects. The number of HIV infections is high. Many children do not receive the support they need to develop according to age.
This challenge is the project partner “Ubuntu Pathways” funded by Hommes. The Ubuntu Center in Township Zwide includes a small clinic, advisory rooms and an area for the school and vocational training of disadvantaged children and adolescents in the district. A special program focus is on promoting early childhood education.
Your support for strong children!
Former deficit, late consequences
The first years of life are crucial for the development of a child. If there is no food or if the skills are not encouraged, this can significantly impair their ability to learn.
This is where the project partner Ubuntu's project for early childhood education for children up to the age of five comes. One of the age -appropriate learning activities includes, for example: getting to know colors, letters and numbers. The daycare center offers the children many opportunities for playing, tinkering and painting. The girls and boys support sporting activities in developing their motor skills. The little ones also learn which animals and plants are available in their surroundings. Ubuntu also takes care of the medical care of the small and regular meals.
Since the start of the program, Ubuntu has had a remarkable track record: thanks to the program for physical, cognitive and emotional development, all children have taken up the admission to primary school and regularly take part in class. The response of the families is also very positive: they immediately experience the progress of their children and support them at home. This also motivates other parents to register their little ones in the Ubuntu kindergarten.
Questions to Claudia Berker, Terre of the Hommes speaker Team Africa
"It's not just about academic learning ..."
Education and training for children is a central concern of Terre des Hommes. What is the importance of early childhood education?
The first seven years of life of a child are the most important phase for physical, mental, social and emotional development, because 95 percent of brain growth take place before the age of six. A lack of food, care, security and stimulation can cause deficits in this phase in the child's learning and development process, which can hardly be compensated for later.
"This means that children have a better starting point than children without funding."
What experiences have you had with the program?
In the projects with early childhood educational offers, almost all children achieve the officially defined pre -school development goals. This means that these children have a better starting point for their further school and professional career than children without funding. But work is not just about academic learning: Children in the projects show good social behavior, creativity and the ability to formulate their wishes and concerns. Therefore, project partners such as Ubuntu include all areas of life and development, which includes nutrition as well as working with the parents.
Does early childhood education also play a role in other terre des hommes projects?
Our partner organizations in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Mozambique, but also in Myanmar, India or in Northern Iraq, ensure the early childhood education of children. In our program work, this funding is a very important contribution to more equal opportunities.
