“An Early Childhood Development Center was exactly what our community needed.”
Sam did not hesitate when he heard about the plans for an Early Childhood Development Center in his community. This 35-years old father of four directly signed up for the job of caregiver on a voluntary basis. Every single day he educates his young class. Why? Because with heart and soul he believes that supporting young children benefits the whole community.
“Starting an Early Childhood Development Center was exactly what our community needed. I applied immediately for the job, because I was very much aware of the poor situation of the children in our village. Finally I got an opportunity to do something about it. Help a Child facilitated a training for caregivers about child development, the role of play, and how we can support young children to learn new things. After that I started my job.
Early Childhood Development Centers are important for Zilakoma. In the future there will be less illiteracy. We see that children that went to the ECD Center, perform better in school. They are less shy than other children. They make easier contact with teachers and with each other. Learning is less challenging for them. Last year there was this girl that could skip a whole class in primary school. That was a big encouragement for us, the caregivers.
I very much enjoy my work! Some people are laughing at me. They think I waste my time. But I can easily ignore them, Because I see how children are changing. That is of great value! Before, these children were at home, without any proper attention for their development. Now they all know the alphabet and a number of English words. That is my motivation to keep going.”