In areas of the country where children learnt to speak in their mother tongue – rather than Kiswahili – we launched a school-readiness programme so they did not immediately fall behind when they entered primary school.
We set up 1000 makeshift centres in rented buildings, where the children received 14 weeks’ training in Kiswahili from community members. These unsung heroes were all volunteers – mostly young school leavers – who used their imagination to engage the children in storytelling. Classes revolved around big books that were painted by local artists and brought to life with a colourful array of masks, puppets and role-play.
The wider community began providing porridge and even building classrooms themselves. Many classes started under a tree and within a few months they moved into a locally constructed ‘school’. The project was such a success that another 4000 centres opened, and the lessons from the initiative were absorbed into the national school readiness programme.
It was an extraordinary phenomenon. In just 14 weeks, these children were more curious, appreciative, well behaved and receptive to learning than their peers who had been in school for two years with highly qualified teachers. Parents reported that their behaviour improved at home, which is something we’re exploring in more detail. This isn’t subjective – Save The Children’s International Development and Early Learning Assessment (IDELA) showed the children excelling in all areas including motor skills, numeracy and literacy. Most importantly, they had learnt enough Kiswahili to start primary school on an even footing with their peers.