UNICEF provides important teaching and learning materials to support ECD in vulnerable communities

Grafton – Five-year-old twins, Marie and Fatmata Kargbo are excited to be spending yet another day with their peers in the Early Childhood Development (ECD) class at War Wounded Community Primary School in Grafton, Western Area Rural District in Sierra Leone.

For five hours each day, the twins take part in various class activities in the attached pre-primary school such as singing, colouring, learning the alphabet, reciting rhymes, and playing, unaware of how important these early learning and playing opportunities are for them and their family.  More than four decades ago, their father, Mr. Abu Bakarr Kargbo, wished for this opportunity for himself, but poverty and later the civil war in Sierra Leone limited his access to learning.

“This community is home to families who have grown up with the legacy of the 10-year Civil War of Sierra Leone,” says Isatu Fofana, the headmistress of War Wounded Community Primary School, who for the last 20 years has supported the community to rebuild from the ashes of the civil war and make education a cornerstone of their recovery.

“Most parents and caregivers in the community were affected and wounded by the war. Even today many community members do not have a steady income. As such, they cannot prioritise buying books to support their children’s learning,” says Ms. Fofana as she explains how this community school has recurrent struggles with absenteeism as some parents cannot provide lunch and other basic school needs such as pencils and notebooks for their children to attend school. She outlined the general lack of resources to support learning at the school, including inadequate teaching and learning materials. More than 100 children attend ECD classes at the school, but the reading materials are woefully inadequate and are used in various classes so that children have to share reading materials for an equal chance to learn.

Across Sierra Leone, children from poor and disadvantaged families often miss out on ECD programs. Among the most deprived communities, enrollment remains woefully inadequate, and learning and playing resources are scarce.

According to the 2017 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MISC) report, only 8 per cent of children aged 3-5 years-old attend an organized early childhood education programme and just two per cent of children under five have access to three or more reading books. These early deprivations often continue to affect their performance in the higher grades and limit their opportunities in life.

Ms. Fofana is therefore grateful for the teaching and learning materials provided by UNICEF through the generous support from the UK Committee for UNICEF.  The preprimary school attached to the War Wounded Community Primary School was one of 300 preprimary schools across Sierra Leone to receive teaching and learning materials which include picture story books, flip charts, chalk, cello tape, and a solar-powered radio, which will be loaded to learning content. Play materials and toys were also provided to support physical and fun activities in addition to intellectual stimulation.

Two teachers from each of the schools also received training on play-based early learning methodologies, which include building the capacity to identify and use local resources and materials to support their teaching sessions. The teachers were also provided with National ECCE Curriculum which will help them to deliver structured and focused lessons for the children.

“UNICEF remains committed to support the strengthening of early childhood development so that every child has the opportunity to develop and grow regardless of their social or economic background,” said UNICEF Chief of Education, Celeste Staley. “The support to these 300 schools is helping to ensure that we give more children a comprehensive education, which includes building their intellect and supporting their psychological development.”

Through Ms. Fofana’s leadership at the War Wounded Community Primary School, parents are encouraged to play a meaningful role in the lives of their children and are sensitized to understand the tremendous gains to be achieved from investing resources and time into the early childhood development of their children.  UNICEF is supporting ongoing sensitization campaigns on good parenting practices including early stimulation, which plays an important role in the child’s ability to develop basic cognitive skills, build trust and gain emotional resilience.

“When a child has a solid foundation for learning, the opportunity for them to do well in life is greater and their education can help transform the families from the present humble status they are living in”, says Ms. Fofana, as she repeats some of the messages given to parents to motivate their support for their children’s learning.

“For example, Marie and Fatmata’s father can neither read nor write, but with the story books, he is able to create meaningful and educational conversations with his children,” says Ms. Fofana, as she appreciates the level of enthusiasm that parents have shown since seeing the progress being made to support their children’s learning and development.  

With further support to Marie, Fatmata, and their peers, there is hope of rebuilding a new generation of children, whose fortunes and opportunities in life are not pre-determined by the remnants of the ten-year civil war, which ended in 2002.