Livingstonia Synod for quality early education in Mzimba: Help from Roger Federer
Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) Synod of Livingstonia Childhood Development Department has introduced early childhood development in Mzimba District to ensure that vulnerable children access quality education early with funding from tennis star Roger Federer under Roger Federer Foundation.
In an interview, the synod’s Early Childhood Development director, Nicolas Mwakasula said his organisation intends to ensure that vulnerable children access quality early childhood education at pre-school age in the district.
Mwakasula said for the past eight years, Roger Federer Foundation has been implementing a comprehensive early childhood development program in the country’s 10 districts targeting 80model and 400 satellite Community Based Childcare Centres (CBCCs) with various interventions aimed at improving the lives and wellbeing of poor and vulnerable children through promotion of access to quality and sustainable ECD services.
“Since January 2019, the foundation has embarked on a new strategy- school readiness, aimed at supporting children to be ready for schools and schools ready for children,” he explained.
He further said the strategy is aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 4.2 whose focus is on ensuring that by 2030, all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.
Mwakasula said specific objectives of the project are to build capacity and enhance the competency of educators in early learning.
“We want to scale up access of vulnerable children to appropriate learning facilities in pre-schools as well as lower grades of primary schools.
“We also want to establish processes of joint responsibility of all stakeholders for early learning improvements,” Mwakasula said.
M’mbelwa District Community Development Officer, Topsy Kachere applauded Livingstonia Synod for implementing the project in the district which he said would promote ECD education in the district.
“We welcome the project because it is a development that the district has been looking for. The project will promote early childhood development education in the district,” Kachere said.
The six-year project, worth over MK558.2 million which will run from May 2020 to April 2026, will also be implemented in Karonga and Nkhata Bay districts.
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