Feature

Cracks in childcare centres

 

We find her sitting on a dusty veranda of a dilapidated muddy, grass-thatched building. The locals in Inkosi Mzikubola, Mzimba South, call it “our CBCC”a community-based childcare centre.

“There were five of us, two have stopped because we don’t get anything,” says Edna Shaba, with a baby strapped on her back.

CBCCCs need to have good structures

The caregiver recounts everyday challenges she has to put up with in caring for children at Kavifufu CBCC, a rundown facility with no safe water.

This puts the children at risk of contracting waterborne diseases, including diarrhoea which the locals say is widespread in the area.

 

It also puts out their burning desire to get a solid start in life, Shaba fears.

“When it rains, lessons are over,” she says.

The only playing toys in sight are broken bricks which the children push in place of toy cars. No play ground. Just crawling with bricks.

To group village head Stonya Nhlane, the situation is heartbreaking.

“Caregivers walk almost three kilometres to draw drinking water from the nearest borehole. This is a big problem,” he says.

The childcare centre, which serves children from 20 villages, needs a facelift and basic services.

The shack was constructed by community members who feel government is not doing enough to offer CBCCs requisite infrastructure and training of caregivers

“We feel government and non-governmental organisations can do more,” he says.

Participatory Development Initiatives (PDI) rolled out a project to close water, sanitation and hygiene (Wash) gaps in some CBCCCs.

The toilet constructed at Kavikufu and other CBCCC in Inkosi Mzikubola area appear much better than buildings in which children play, sing and learn.

Mzimba district commissioner Thomas Chirwa says the childcare facilities are “quiet pathetic”.

“You can’t expect children to learn well in such centres where they have well-built toilets and poor buildings. This defeats the essence of the programme,” he says.

PDI project officer Vanessa Phiri calls for conceited efforts to improve the well-being of preschool children.

“If all stakeholders, government and NGOs, complement each other, we can achieve quality early childhood development service delivery,” she says.

She spoke of the stunning contrast.

“This is the dilemma we face. We need other players to come in and construct good classrooms and install safe water,” she says.

Chirwa promised them M’mbelwa District Council would urgently provide water to CBCCs.

“It defeats the purpose  to have a modern toilet while learners are learning in dilapidated grass-thatched CBCCs without water supply,” says the DC.

But this is just a glimpse of a national tragedy.

The national picture is equally gloomy despite an upsurge in organisations supporting early childhood care and development (ECD) in the country.

Speaking at the first ever Inclusive ECD Education Conference held in Mzimba, Save the Children director of education and child development Elke Tiede said quality is hampered by numerous challenges.

According to the Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social welfare, half of the caregivers countrywide were untrained in 2017.

There are over 17 000 caregivers spread across almost 35000 CBCCCs across the country

“This means over 50 percent of children in ECD programmes are being taught by untrained caregivers,” says Tiede.

Besides, 45 percent of children below six years are not accessing the ECD.

This represents a shaky go at achieving Sustainable Development Goals on ensuring every child has access to inclusive quality education and lifelong learning.

According to Save the Children, training 30 caregivers costs about K13 million.

Government finds this cost exorbitant.

Many organisations only stop at training the caregivers.

They expect the volunteers to perform wonders in shaping the children without offering them any incentives.

The results are obvious: Many drop out a few months after training.

In Mzimba, some use the money they get during the training to migrate to South Africa in search of greener pastures, according to the social welfare office.

However, Felix Sapala, the Director of Disability and Elderly Affairs in the Ministry of Gender, Disability, Children and Social Welfare, government is aware of the shortfalls affecting ECD services.

“Government is not taking this issue sitting down. We have increased funding towards ECD in the 2017/2018 budget. We are also encouraging communities around CBCCs to mobilise some funds to act as incentives for caregivers, a monthly ‘thank you’ for their services,” said Sapala

Studies have shown children who go through quality ECD programmes are more likely to excel and remain in school than their counterparts who are excluded.

However, progress to ensure every child learns from a young age remains slow.

In Mzikubola, Edna Shaba is still waiting for the day she will be trained and start receiving a small incentive for her voluntary services.

Most importantly, she is convinced the children deserve a better environment than the muddy hut which is falling apart. n

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