Saina Sabia, is a rural village in Gondar without kindergarten facilities. Currently, pre-primary aged children are being taught alongside older students in crowded classrooms, without adequate facilities and resources.
We have been working in partnership with the Corvallis Sister Cities Association-Gondar (CSCA-G), with funding from the US Embassy in Ethiopia, to develop a model early-childhood education programme in Saina Sabia. Construction of a building for the kindergarten started at the beginning of this year and is now well under way. It is due to be completed by September, in time for the new school year!
Our project, will establish a high quality learning environment by constructing a new kindergarten building and providing pre-primary learning resources. Gondar Teacher Training College will be supporting us to provide specialised training and curriculum support for kindergarten teachers from Saina Sabia village. Once the kindergarten is up and running, Corvallis Sister Cities Association are hoping to establish a sister school relationship between the new kindergarten and a similar school in Corvallis, USA.
We have been working in partnership with the Corvallis Sister Cities Association for a number of years. They work in collaboration with citizens of Corvallis and Gondar, with a mission ‘to develop sustainable solutions and promote cultural awareness, respect, and understanding between the cities’. They have developed a strong relationship with the Saina Sabia community, having previously worked together on water and micro-finance projects. This project is being part-funded by CSCA-G and part-funded by a grant from the US embassy in Ethiopia.
“Pre-primary education offers a vital foundation for children’s learning and should be a routine part of every child’s education and an indispensable component of every education system.”
UNICEF global report 2019 ‘A world ready to learn: prioritising quality early childhood education’
The new building, shown in construction above, will provide bright airy classrooms, in a strong concrete block building for the new kindergarten.
Early childhood education sets a strong foundation for lifelong learning, developing vital skills for further education and eventual employment. It equips children with strong social skills, greater vocabulary and numerical abilities and instills a curiosity to learn more, better preparing them for the transition to higher education. Research shows that children who have attended pre-primary education are less likely to drop out or repeat grades, and more likely to complete primary and secondary school. These students are also likely to later take on higher positions within the job market, leading to greater economic stability and a population with greater skills.
Construction of the Saina Sabia kindergarten school began in January and is now well under way! The Gondar Ministry of Education has been assisting with hiring qualified teachers from the village, and these teachers are now participating in early childhood education training. The project is due to be completed by September 2019, providing a quality early-learning environment just in time for the new school year!