En av hindringene for kvinners deltakelse i det formelle arbeidslivet i Etiopia er mangel på barnehagetilbud til de minste barna. Sammen med en rekke partnere, blant andre etiopiske myndigheter, ble det i 2017 startet et pilotprosjekt for å etablere et barnehagetilbud for 0-4-åringer.
Utdanning av barnehageassistenter er en del av dette prosjektet.
10. november ble det avholdt eksamensfest for det fjerde kullet med assistenter. Totalt er det nå utdannet 221 assistenter. Representanter fra Ministry of Women and Social Affairs var til stede og gratulerte assistentene. Fra PfC deltok Ida Dingsør og Birikit Terefe.
Assistentene fra tidligere kull har alle fått jobb i offentlige og private barnehager i Addis Ababa, og årets kull vil få samme muligheter.
Prosjektet med etablering av småbarnsbarnehager er et eksempel på hvordan PfC som en ideell organisasjon kan skape systemisk endring med relativt begrensede midler. Sammen kan vi vise vei for utviklingen av barnehagetilbud til 10 millioner småbarn i Etiopia.
Vi spurte noen av deltakerne på kurset om hva de mente om utdanningen, og hvordan den vil hjelpe dem i det fremtidige arbeidet i barnehagene:
Tsehay (barnehagen i Ministry of Defense): It has been such an enriching journey. When I start the training, our center was struggling to manage 5 toddlers. Now after the training and continuous technical support we are flourishing with 35 toddlers without any challenge.
The training helped us understand children better and the continuous technical support provided, helped us create a more independent and efficient system.
Our center is now equipped with trained staff and has a very systematic management system. We are doing excellent internally. We have even trained the parents of the children using the technical group. We are very grateful for this experience
Yenenesh (barnehagen i Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation): I started the training because it was offered to our office. I never thought it was going to be such a life changing opportunity like this.
I cannot wait to have a child and raise him/her through this knowledge. I have learned the importance of the first 6 years of a child’s life, and this has made me a very conscious care giver to the children in our center.
Jerusalem (Ethiopian Electric power authority): This training should be given to every parent and every caregiver in Ethiopia. I regret the years I worked with children without this knowledge.
I am now leading my center using the knowledge from the training, and I know I always have a technical support available when I face new challenges.
In addition to the training, I have now been exposed to a whole team of trainers and experts I can call when I am faced with a challenge with system in the day care center or an individual child. The technical team and the trainers provide us with support whenever we need them. This has been a very empowering journey.
