Education Committee

Preschool Education Program

One of the serious problems in Ezbet Khairalla is illiteracy and unawareness. Kindergartens in Ezbet Khairalla are stuffed with children, with a TV on and uneducated, unqualified babysitters looking after them. We thought of taking these young minds, which are fertile grounds, to instill some basic ethics, principles of social interaction and teamwork, environmental awareness, and hygiene.

We have established a pilot program for improving the standards of day care centers for the children. A comprehensive program to teach the teachers of preschoolers as well as their mothers has been formed, so that the children benefit during school as well as at home. Teachers and mothers are regularly monitored by our staff to ensure sustainable implementation. Also, an outreach program specifically tailored to this socio-economic stratum is applied.

We started with 600 mothers who have about 900 children enrolled in day care centers. The program teaches the teachers (TOT) of these children (about 60), as well as the facilitators (about 40), who are in charge of teaching the mothers. Within a few months the program expanded to include over 900 mothers, and 2,000 children.

There are several courses for the teachers and facilitators, covering topics such as basic child development, safety, general health, and personal hygiene. Starting school year 2009, an advanced professional computerized literacy program was initiated in all our partner Kindergartens in Ezbet Khairalla. Each KG is granted a library and a computer, for sustainability.

General activities and fun are not neglected. Birthday celebrations are held every two months by bringing together all Kindergartens under our umbrella. Also periodic cultural and fun trips are incorporated to encourage mingling, interaction and exchange of experience amongst the participants. Art and craft lessons are also given to our children to explore hidden talented.

We plan on expanding each year, to grow with our initial pilot project, thus eventually providing this program to all levels of elementary and secondary education in Ezbet Khairalla. We believe that investing in education is the best way to attempt to raise the standard of living and to provide the means to a healthy and productive life.

2010 Progress Report
Peace and Plenty successfully covered 90% of Ezbet Khairalla's Kindergartens under our supervison:

• 24 facilitators were trained in the health, safety and development of preschoolers, and in turn they trained 440 additional mothers.
• Three graduation ceremonies were held for the 440 mothers upon their completion of three curricula
• 395 new preschoolers benefited from the expansion of our programs in addtion to the previously enrolled children 1305. Total preschoolers 1700.
• 9 additional nursery schools were renewed and refurnished, bringing the total to 22
• The nursery supervisors were all trained in the new pedagogical methods, based on specially devised programs, including the ABGAD educational system.
• The preschoolers participated in 9 field trips throughout the school year.
• Birthday parties were held on a monthly basis in the nursery schools.
• An agreement was reached with the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood to present several workshops in the areas Family Planning & Female Genital Mutilation FGM.
• International Children’s Day was celebrated in cooperation with McDonald’s Egypt
• "Creative Mothers": The facilitators were trained by volunteers from the Faculty of Fine Arts to produce income generating art work, which in turn they trained the mothers to do.
• The Education Administration, Masr Elqadima, granted us the approval to renovate two public elementary schools in the Ezba, Fouad Galal and Hoda Shaarawy.