Train 30 women preschool teachers in Mozambique!

With the expansion of MSLI’s preschool program this year, we’ve been really excited to see how the new preschools are transforming young childrens’ lives. Little kids who used to be shy, reserved, and undernourished, are now full of energy, singing songs with enthusiasm, and learning the fundamentals of letters, numbers and how to write.

Each day, the children spend 5-8 hours at the preschool, facilitated by trained preschool teachers. They receive a nutritious breakfast and lunch, ensuring good nutrition at a critical age. MSLI’s preschools are free for all children. The children also enjoy games and fun activities. Recently, the preschools celebrated the “Day of the African Child”, in which the preschool teachers organized special song s and dances for the children, and costumes with the traditional cloth worn in Mozambique – capulanas.

In May of this year, the MSLI team used the International Development and Early Learning Assessment (IDELA) – a rigorous, standardized global tool that measures children’s early learning and development – to assess the status of the 5-year olds in MSLI’s preschool program. The team randomly selected 60 children to complete the assessment, which included activities such as identifying shapes, solving puzzles, recognizing letters, counting and doing basic addition. The assessment also included an evaluation of the child’s socio-emotional status and engagement with other children. Even in a few short months, we were surprised by how much the children had learned! MSLI plans on regularly conducting these assessments so that we can measure the impact of the preschools on the children’s learning.

We are now running 14 preschools in rural Mozambique, employing 39 preschool teachers. But there is far greater need and the opportunity to expand the program even further. With your support, we can make that a reality!