“My life has changed completely because of this day care service”

Mihiret Belayneh

My name is Mihiret Belayneh and I am 25 years old. I was born and raised here in Akaki/Kality woreda 03, which is very close to where GSTC and PfC opened a daycare. I have 2 children.

I had a normal childhood until my father passed away at 15. A few years later, my mother got married to another husband. He was very abusive and I had to leave home and go through various challenging lifepaths including living on the street. I could not finish school and in this process, I ended up having a child. My mother divorced my stepdad after two years, and I moved back into my mom’s house with my son.

I wanted to look for a better life, so I left for Beirut to work as a house help when my son was 4 years old. He stayed with my mother. However, I returned home after 2 years with no significant income. After I returned, I was hired in a garment factory, but as I did not have any prior training I was fired after a few months.

After a while, I got married to a man and had my second son. But my husband was alcoholic and abusive and I had to leave him. I moved back to my mother.

With 2 sons, I became dependent on my old mother to do petty trade to feed me. My dream for this past year has been to go out and do whatever small job I can to earn an income to help my mother, but with my second son being very young, I could not leave home. It is very painful to see my mother suffer for me throughout her life.

Now I am very happy because for the first time in many years, I am able to feel safe about where I leave my children. Thanks to Good Samaritan and Partnership for Change, I am now able to keep my son in the clean and well-furnished daycare and I can find work to support my family. The daycare is a big opportunity for me and it allows me to get a job and be economically independent. The center is so clean and I don’t have a worry since there is food and milk for my son. I am delighted that I can take the vocational skills training, especially in sewing and cutting, and get back to work in the garment industry.

This is the best thing that happened to me since I was 15.

Simret Bekele

My name is Simret Bekele. I am 23 years old, and was born and raised here in Akaki/Kality Woreda 03.

I attended my education only up to grade 8, when I had to drop out of school due to my mother’s death. Her passing away when we were young shifted the responsibility of raising my brother and two sisters to me.

I tried doing whatever I could to earn income for the family, like braiding hair. Two years ago, I got married and had a son. Then, even if people need my service, I could not do it as there was no one to take care of him.

This beautiful day care has given me the opportunity of a lifetime, as I can drop my son off and work to support myself economically. Going forward, I am interested in joining the hairdressing and beautification training at GSTC.

My life has changed completely because of this day care service. I feel confident to work outside and I will have a good income as I can focus fully on my work. This daycare facility is truly lifechanging for mothers like me.

Now I envision my son graduating from college; that is my dream and I am going to make it happen by working hard and making sure he stays in school.

Thank you for this amazing opportunity.

Tadelech

Teacher at GSTC day care

Tadelech (35) is one of the first to complete the Montessori assistant training by Partnership for Change and works for Good Samaritan Training Centre. She always wanted to become a teacher. As soon as she finished high school, she took a 6-month course in pedagogy, and got a job in a local elementary school. She then advanced her competence with a degree in teaching from a university in Addis Ababa. She has always enjoyed working with toddlers, and started working in Good Samaritan’s kindergarten six years ago. We interviewed her about her insights and experience.

“The training was very interesting and so interactive. It showed me new techniques to instill confidence in children rather than doing everything for them. It enabled me to teach children how to be independent. I already had six years of experience working as a kindergarten teacher, but this training shifted my perspective on how I see children and how I treat them.”

“I love working with children and support them because they are so loving and honest. However, before the training I thought of them as helpless and my intention was always to do everything for them. But now I have learned that they are aware, they listen, they understand, they interact and they are able to do things if coached in the right way. The Montessori technique boosted my passion for children and made it easier for me to help children grow into independent and happy citizens.”

“Working in a day care facility that is designed and furnished as per our training is such a huge privilege. We know the toddlers are safe, well fed, and we also know we have the skill to make then better citizens. It is a beautiful experience to have the skills, resources and space to implement my passion and I am grateful for that. And of course, having a decent income while fulfilling my passion is a plus.

The day care helps mothers

“The day care helps mothers in so many ways. First, they have time to work and make an income. This will bring an additional income to the family and also empower them. The smile on the mothers’ faces in the morning is the most rewarding experience for me. They know their children are safe with us. The children are fed in the day care. This takes the burden off the mother and helps them keep their children nourished and healthy. Mothers can focus on their career development and work without any fear.”

“Working here means a lot to me. First, I get a decent income from following my passion, and second, I know I am serving the most vulnerable children and mothers in the community. I love playing with the toddlers; I am having fun while serving.”

My dream

“My dream is to serve more children and to be an impact center that really contribute to the development of children. I believe we can grow the facility into a kindergarten and serve even more children and mothers in the community. I love working and playing with children and there is nothing that gives me more happiness than this. I would like to advance my education, but still serve underprivileged children.”

Interview with Metasebia Mammo

After completing the Montessori pedagogy training, we sat down with one of the participants, Metasebia Mammo, to hear her impression and experience. With a degree in psychology and sociology, she has worked with vulnerable children for both public and private sector, written a best-selling book on parenting, as well as run a day care for 10 years. Called “Best Day Care”, it has now take up the Montessori methodology, and Metasebia has advanced her commitment to Montessori by becoming one of the trainers in our pedagogy course for kindergarten assistants.

Why do we need the Montessori training?

“Montessori enables people to understand the developmental needs of children so that they can support them accordingly. It challenges the traditional adult-directed method, instead emphasizing self-directed activities and collaborative play. Moreover, the use of specialized materials is important for children in bringing about their natural capacity of exploration and allowing them to think of new ways to do things. This also inspires great self-confidence in the children, as they are responsible for their own development and allowed to learn for themselves.

In Ethiopia, we mostly focused on “helping” children than leading them towards independence. This caused many problems when they become teenagers and then adults. Montessori helped us change this by focusing on enabling the child.”

As a trainee and then trainer, how do you describe your journey through Montessori training?

“Thanks to Partnership for Change (PfC), I was invited for the training as one of few people who had the interest and experience in early childhood programs. I received theoretical as well as practical training for 15 months, and even got the chance to share my experience with colleagues in Norway.

As a trainee, I found the concept of independence, that children are responsible for their development, very impressive. It is completely different from the traditional way of teaching. The training gave me an opportunity to meet with likeminded professionals and share my experience.

The most exciting part of this journey has been adopting this education to the Ethiopian context and train local day care professionals. It has been an interesting to learn what works and what needs to change in Ethiopia.

Then I began offering training to day care assistants employed by government, NGOs and private day care centres in collaboration with the team members. During training I realized that there are many people who have a nice heart for children, but who were in need of the skills to fill the gap they encounter when dealing with children.

Furthermore, it enabled me to discuss the method with people from grassroot and up to the policy making levels.

How did it help you?

It helped me evaluate my thinking, approach, and the materials I used in my day care. It changed my perspective on how to prepare training materials and I started to focus on the concept of independence.

The training equipped me with the skill to support individuals at different levels and to know more about how they feel, their interests, their challenges and the potential they have with respect to supporting children.

How did it change the way you work with children?

I rearranged my day care environment in accordance with the Montessori method. The care takers got training and timely supportive supervision and coaching. I replaced teaching materials with the appropriate Montessori ones, and started applying the monitoring tools.

My day care was transformed due to the training. It is now a centre for independence and stimulation, not just a centre to keep children in one place.

What is the benefit of the training for the children?

The children have trained care givers who can understand their developmental needs. They focus on giving freedom with limits; they leave the children alone when they engage in activities; and they understand children’s misbehaviour and how to deal with it. Therefore, children are happy and inspired to become independent.

How will this help change the national system?

It is helpful to set day care standards in the country in a professional and empowering way. We are training day care assistants and PfC is training leaders and engaging the government in revising the standards. We are working on both skills and standards at the same time. In the future, the country can have citizens who are responsible, confident, who negotiate and keep social norms.