Regular communication with our kindergartens – familiarity builds trust
During our stay in Sri Lanka, we naturally visited all 14 kindergartens supported by Lankahelp. These visits are very important for the teachers: they provide an opportunity for personal discussions, during which we can exchange ideas about current challenges, needs, and wishes. At the same time, we gain direct insight into everyday teaching and can witness and appreciate the work of the teachers on site.
Several principals of secondary state schools told us that children who come from one of “our” kindergartens are better prepared and noticeably healthier than many of their classmates when they enter first grade. This is a clear sign of how effective early childhood education and healthy nutrition are, starting at preschool age.
Our teachers are highly regarded among their colleagues in state schools – not least because their salaries are secure and always paid on time, which is unfortunately not always a given in the public system. This respect motivates and strengthens the professionals in their daily work – a valuable contribution to the long-term quality of early childhood education.
However, there have also been setbacks: Ampitikanda: The nursery is currently closed. The number of children enrolled is too low, as the tea plantation owners do not want to allow the children to attend the nursery. They run their own childcare facility and prefer to supervise the children there (without any training or support). Our aim, however, is to reopen the nursery. For this reason, we have applied to the relevant ministry to ensure that the children can attend the nursery. Unfortunately, we have not yet received a response to our request. Both the teaching staff at neighbouring schools and all the parents in the village have appealed to the education authority for the nursery to reopen and have personally put forward their case. We hope that a solution will be found soon.