The last year was challenging for nursery schools in Malawi who largely rely on volunteer caregivers and cooks. With schools opening and closing amidst the pandemic, many volunteers simply left and when nurseries re-opened new recruits were needed. In order to assist nursery partners, and to motivate volunteers, we ran a competition offering prizes to volunteers who embodied best caregiving and food hygiene practices, etc. We announced the 2021 Caregiver Competition Results for rural nurseries on the 3rd of December at the CBCC Directors Meeting we previously reported on. In attendance were the CBCC volunteer caregivers and their schoolchildren, who also wanted to join in the celebrations!
1st Prize: Mlambe CBCC
Volunteer Prize: Mrs. Mingola & Mrs. Mpwinyiza of Mlambe CBCC both received 1 cloth wrap and a 25-litre bucket each. In addition to showing great example in having lesson plans organised, they also attended everyday the nursery was open and kept impeccable records. Congratulations!
Nursery Prize: The Mlambe CBCC also took first prize overall as a nursery, for the many initiatives the teachers implemented for students. As a result all the graduating class of children received a ‘school starting pack’ containing 2 pencils, 2 x exercise books and a mask. The following explains some of the initiatives put in place by Mlambe CBCC in 2021:
– Introduced a school uniform policy, and ensured children attended in clean uniforms
– Set up outdoor play structures
– Improved enrolment & attendance and kept corresponding records
– Prepared a Standard 1 Readiness Plan, which meant that each Friday the class teachers took the soon to graduate children to their primary school. At the primary school they introduced them to their teachers, and stayed with them while they took lessons at school. This is all the more amazing when you consider the primary school visited was almost 3kms away from the nursery. As a result of the initiative children experienced their future walk to school, met their future teachers and slowly adjusted to the idea of changing schools. The 31 x children who availed of this initiative can be seen in the photo above. Congratulations to Mlambe CBCC!
2nd Prize: Chilingani CBCC
Volunteer Prize: The team of 4 caregivers at Chilingani CBCC also created a Standard 1 Readiness Plan in addition to building outdoor play structures. Each caregiver received a cloth wrap and a basin to store drinking water at their home. Congratulations to all!
Nursery Prize: Each child in the nursery’s graduating class of 20 kids received a bag containing a mask, a pencil and an exercise book. Congratulations to Chilingani CBCC!
3rd Prize: Tikondane CBCC
Regular readers may remember that this school has experienced many challenges in the past. However in 2021 this particular nursery made some big improvements and is once again a fully functioning nursery. Seibo were delighted to award 3rd Prize to Tikondane. The volunteer caregivers each received a cloth wrap and the nursery itself received learning charts for the classroom. Congratulations to all at Tikondane CBCC!
