LIFE Pre-schools
The Problem:
Basic Education is not easily accessible in rural villages. Schools are often too far away for young children to walk. With the LIFE preschools, LIFE Project aims to make basic education accessible to every village child.
Our objectives are to:
• Provide training and curriculum for community based preschools
• Provide all eligible children with basic reading and numeracy skills
• Provide adult literacy programs for reading and writing skills
• Identify children with disabilities and refer them to government and NGO’s with programs to enable satisfactory educational opportunities
Statistics:
• The LIFE Project has 20 functional preschools in the Mukuni Chiefdom (established in the last 12 months)
• 36 indigenous teacher-volunteers receive bi-monthly training in Early Childhood Development.
• 425+ children receive a basic education through LIFE preschools. These are children who have had no previous opportunities to attend a school.
Curriculum:
LIFE Preschools follow a developmentally appropriate curriculum that has been written by our Education Team, especially with the rural village child in mind.
Each activity is carefully matched to coincide with universal stages in all areas of children’s development: physical, cognitive, social/emotional and spiritual. Therefore, when children move to new levels of ability, there are always experiences they can choose in order to gain new mastery. There are many opportunities for children to practice physical skills, learn problem-solving, gain knowledge of their environment, and practice interacting more effectively with others. The community is an important part of children’s learning experiences and partners in the education and care of the children.
The curriculum has a strong emphasis on health and hygiene as well as Biblical character training. The daily program also includes activities such as creative art, music and movement, and basic math, all adapted to the African perspective.
Sustainability:
One of the highest priorities for LIFE preschools is to enhance and promote sustainability. We ensure sustainability in the following ways:
• The LIFE Project partners with the community in establishing a preschool. The LIFE Project provides a curriculum, training and support. In turn the community is expected to provide a schoolroom (built with indigenous materials such as sticks, mud and thatch) as well as two teacher-volunteers. We expect schools to be completely sustainable at the end of 5-year period.
• Teacher-volunteers are taught to use recycled materials to make toys, equipment and supplies. This keeps costs down to a minimum and enhances sustainability.
• To promote community ownership, minimal school fees are charged. This helps pay an honorarium for the teacher-volunteer as well as consumable supplies such as paper, crayons, paint etc. Where parents can’t afford the school fees, they “pay in kind”. Such payment includes physical work on the school building and/or property and food (e.g. chickens, maize, etc.)
The Education Team
The LIFE Project has a team of highly qualified education consultants who are responsible for the implementation and management of the program, as well as the teacher-volunteer training.
• Janet Berner: Janet holds a B.S. from Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas, and an M.Ed. in Counseling from Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas. She has served as an elementary classroom teacher, day care director, elementary school counselor, play therapist, AWANA’s leader (children’s Bible program) and Sunday school teacher. While on the mission field she founded a Christian primary school, and developed curriculum for its use. Janet now trains children’s homes staff and administrators in proper child care techniques, teaches Kids Clubs in the rural areas as well as leads a Bible study for village women.
• Liezl Pienaar holds B.Prim.Ed. in Early Childhood Development. She has served as an elementary school teacher and Sunday school teacher. While on the mission field, she founded and managed a successful preschool, for which she developed a developmentally appropriate curriculum. She currently homeschools 9 children, including her own.
• Jessi Schwertfeger holds bachelors of the arts in Music Education. (Certification includes K-12, general, choral, or instrumental music classes) She served as a preschool and music teacher on the mission field.
• Bev Muruvan has served as a homeschool tutor for 8 years. She also has 4 years experience working with school districts in Canada.
Future plans:
The Education Team plans to add a phonics-based reading program to the preschool curriculum. When children are old enough to cover distances to government schools, they will have no gaps in their education, but we will have given them a head-start in their education.
