Child Development Centres

Since 2006, the Initiative also supports so-called Child Development Centres (CDC) in the target area. These facilities serve not only to relieve the working women but especially the older siblings, who are otherwise charged with the care of the infants. Girls in particular are often pushed into that role; that may be one of the reasons why so many women in rural areas are illiterate.

In the past, they have apparently dealt with it by taking the younger siblings along to school during the first years. This might explain why for expl. in 2007 only 54.5% of the first-graders have moved up to the second class (Flash report 2007/2008, Department of Education). Since 2008, this has been stopped. Therefore, wherever possible, nursery schools are now to be established, although the Government is not even capable of financing sufficient teacher posts and teaching materials for the existing schools.

The CDCs are organizationally affiliated to the schools: the School Management Committee is responsible for the employment of the CDC teachers and for the management of the CDCs. 

Thanks to the Montessori School Kronberg, which organized a charity run in 2006 for the benefit of this project, the Initiative could start in 2006 to support fiancially  the construction  and /or  the interior equipment  of the first CDCs. Nowadays, there are 5 CDCs which all have their own rooms financed by us. Normally, threre  are between 75 and 95 children in the CDCs.

All nursery schools are provided with toys and teaching materials. The Initiative pays a small allowance towards the very low salary of the CDC teachers. As their qualification is rather insufficient, we have sent all 5 CDC-teachers  for further training  to Kathmandu since 2011. This training has caused a remarkable improvement in the teaching methods.