Day care centre
“Every child here is given the chance to be a CHILD”
Since 2001 Quality of Life Nepal has been supporting the organisation and running of a day-care centre. This centre has 3 kindergarten classes which provide for a total of 45 to 50 children. There is a medical post where the children as well as their parent's can get first aid treatment. All the children of Sarangkot aged 2.5 and 6 have access to the day-care centre.
The school building was restored in 2001. The first building had been built by a Canadian organization, but, as there were no funds for maintenance, the school had to close its doors. When they took over the school QOLN used the existing facilities and only had to repair the roof, build a better fence and add a medical post and a toilet.
PURPOSE of the project
The children enjoy daily care and can use the medical facilities. They take part in interactive creative and pre-school learning. They get the chance to live and develop their culture in their songs, dances and music and by playing Nepalese games.
It is our firm conviction that our educative and social awareness programme, which is focused on mothers, will lead to a decrease in child mortality.
The need for a day-care centre
In a small community such as Sarangkot mothers work in the fields from morning till evening. So, most of the children are cared for by their grandparents or even elder brothers or sisters. In some cases the children simply stay at home and are left to their own devices!
An inquiry (1999-2000) has shown that the day-care centre can provide for more than 60 to 80 children and their parents.
It is our intention to persuade mothers to bring their children to the centre. Infants of 2.5 to 6 years old are taken care of by trained teachers, six days a week, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. With the support of foreign volunteers these teachers have now become very competent kindergarten teachers.
Our centre especially stimulates girls to attend school. When they are given the opportunity to start school at an early age they will also be able to finish their education. In many cases, indeed, Nepalese girls are taken out of school by their parents in order to help in the household and take care of the younger children.
2009
QOLN had the plan to extend the day care centre in 2008, with 3 extra classrooms. Funds were raised but couldn’t be put into materials and labor. QOLN excuses for the delay. The reason they could not start to work on this building was because there is no water at all at the school side to build.
The water project finished only mid March 2009 and was re-opened on the Nepali New Year (14th of April 2009).
Meanwhile, the engineer made a plan to extend the building with one floor. One classroom will be made to give literacy classes for women (this classroom can also be used in the daytime to take care of disabled children), one classroom to give trainings (so women can have their own income generating) and one classroom to organize meetings for the village committees (as the water committees and buffalo committees).
Because the prices of cement and metal went up with more than 50 % since last year, QOLN is still searching for a fund of 5.000 euro. Also there is money needed to decorate the rooms and for furniture (6.275 euro).
