Breaking Poverty Cycles with Early Childhood Development

Frieda Kakololo

WINDHOEK, Namibia

There are shacks made of corrugated iron and other scavenged materials all around the pre-school. The pre-school is surrounded by a metal wire about 1 meter tall in some places, while in other areas, it's slightly bent lower so one can walk over it.  A faint smell of dust mixed with smoke lingers in the air. We walk straight into the yard as there is no gate. When we reach the shack made of corrugated iron nailed to wooden poles painted white and a few posters pasted on the wall outside the shack.

 We hear the children of Ndeshy Pre-school and Daycare reciting a poem. The children are sitting outside under a blue net as their source of shade with their little chairs. They all sit around two large tables pushed together.

The children notice us right away. “Good morning, auntie”, some welcome us while others simply wave. A 3 year old boy named Josef runs to me and hugs my legs. “Good morning, class”, we greet back. I look down at little Josef, who looks up at me, smiles, and then runs back to his little chair as quickly as he runs to me.

 We walk past the children sitting outside into the classroom, and there we find the teacher and owner of the pre-school and daycare, Ndseshaadha Aina Petrus. 

The 32-year-old started the pre-school and daycare in 2016 because she wanted to get children off the street. She looks away as she recalls a painful memory. Miss Ndeshy tells us about one fateful morning when she woke up and saw a child who must have been five around that time rummaging through the dustbin for food. “On that day, I said to myself; you need to do something,” she says.

Sadly poverty and food insecurity is a stark reality in Namibia, and life in the informal settlements is especially difficult for young children. There is no proper housing, sanitation or security. Parents work long hours, so kids spend most of their time at the ECD centres. The informal settlements are also stricken by violence and alcohol abuse, with bars just a few feet away from ECD centres. 

“The children here come from difficult situations. Most of them don't come with food, only empty lunch boxes. So I buy bread and discreetly put it in their lunch boxes so they won't feel left out during lunchtime amongst the other kids,” Me Ndeshy tells me.

A child needs to be fed and physically healthy in order for their brain to develop and to learn. They will need a balanced diet, and the child needs to be nurtured and they need space to learn and grow in a safe and secure environment. 

“There are two main issues with ECD in Namibia- access and quality. A study by DNA Economics shows that only 20% of Namibian children between 0 to 6 have access to ECD centres, and only 63% of educators are qualified. So even though 20% have access to ECD centres, not all receive a quality education.”

When Miss Ndeshy opened the pre-school & daycare, she didn't have any training, but along the way, she realised the importance of brain development from the age of 0-to 6 years old. So to provide the children at her centre with the best fundamental education, she underwent a training programme offered by partners of our organisation Development Workshop.

Development Workshop (DW) offers free training to ECD centres teachers and parents as children need adequate psychosocial stimulation to prevent stunted growth. DW trains the teachers through a series of workshops on various topics such as child development, holistic development, learning through play, and classroom management, to name a few. 

One of the main problems Ms Ndeshy was facing was a lack of ablution facilities. Me Ndeshy recalls having to walk ten kids at a time to a communal toilet which is 6 minutes away. “I always feared for the children's safety as the communal toilets are not clean”. Me Ndeshy and the children's parents are incredibly grateful to DW as they helped them construct toilets equipped with a basin for the children to wash their hands. To date DW have constructed 31 sanitation centres at different ECD centres across Namibia. 

DW also supports the ECD centres by providing learning materials such as worksheets, storybooks and stationery.  

Research over the past 30 years has been significant development in scientific knowledge that the most crucial period of human development is from birth to 8 years; during these years, the development of cognitive skills, emotional wellbeing, social competence and sound physical and mental health builds a strong foundation for success. We have eight years to influence and develop a more robust and efficient education system.  

Children who don't receive a quality early childhood education are more likely to perform poorly due to a weak educational foundation. These children are more likely to drop out or repeat. High dropout rates are associated with social issues such as crime, poverty, unemployment and substance abuse.  Alternatively, children who benefit from a quality early childhood education perform better in school, are more likely to graduate, have higher lifetime earnings, have happy/healthy relationships and positively contribute to society, including paying more taxes and being better parents to the next generation. This investment seems especially pertinent in an area like these informal settlements, where the right start can lay the foundations for a better life within one generation. 

The phrase “it takes a village to raise a child” is famous for a reason – because it’s true. It needs to be the moral obligation of all to give children the best start in life. It is the responsibility of parents and the extended family to provide nutrition, love, care and play. It’s the duty of society to help ensure the child is safe, happy and healthy and that the child's parents are supported. It’s the responsibility of ECD centres and preschools to ensure that children are learning and playing for optimal brain development. 

 EforA and our partners DW are determined to be part of the village and achieve this goal of transforming the nation and improving governance through investing in early childhood education. EforA is proud to be supporting DW in the expansion of their programmes into new communities.