Sollerud Kindergarten Tanzania

Sollerud Kindergarten Tanzania is a very good example on how Ilula Orphan Program (IOP) give priority to Education & Care. It was a big step toward the vision “New standard of living for the Tanzanian Community “when this fantastic service in education was introduced.

With the exciting high school Lord Hill IOP have and the new Primary School Sunflower, IOP  covers the complete education chain from kindergarten to high school. This puts IOP in a unique situation to help the region in the most important target – education.

 Sollerud Kindergarten Tanzania is one of the important milestones for Ilula Orphan Program and the community members in Ilula and nearby villages, whose thirst for quality education service was an issue. The school opened on 18TH  January 2016 with 27 children. The number of children was increasing monthly, even in the high season for agriculture where people usually use their money in the agricultural activities. Things do change and ideas do change.  The parents are looking for this good opportunity. The number of children grew up to 100. More will come as they have booked for the space for their children to come and learn different things. We thank donors for their great support and the parents for their great trust in IOP's great work on changing the lives of people. No change can happen without intensively investing in quality education and facilities.

 The school has 4 attractive furnished classrooms, with learning material for the children to learn by seeing, touching and doing. It is the first kindergarten in this area to have such high standard teaching and learning environment

 Sollerud Kindergarten Tanzania uses the Dr. Maria Montessori teaching methodology, which is helping many children to learn and adapt to the environment quickly. The school has different visual teaching and learning materials. The school has different audio materials for the purpose of learning quickly. Many locally-made materials are available for easy understanding. Children are taught in English as its medium of instruction and Kiswahili as a compulsory subject to teach. Different people are invited to be part of this very important process for making children learn. The teaching staffs are educated and competent in Montessori Teaching Methodology!

“We learn from each other”, is a small teaching plan in an agreement between Sollerud barnehage in Norway and Sollerud Kindergarten Tanzania, to learn/exchange from each other by putting the subjects: A) Social Competence, B) Culture and Cultural Exchange, 
 C) Play,  D) Language,  E) Body and Movement and  F) Nature
into their respective teaching plans regularly.

In Tanzania they learn about the nature in Norway, and the other way round.

Sollerud Kindergarten Tanzania has an outdoor playing unit which is new and modern to our environment. It is this uniqueness that makes the children feel more comfortable to have a place  to  play  when  having  the  break  time.  Thanks  to  the  supporters  for  this important arrangement and structure.

The official opening of the school took place March 3rd, 2016. The guest of honor was the Norwegian Ambassador to Tanzania, Hanne Maria Kaarstad.   There were many guests from inside and outside Tanzania. Many IOP friends and  the donors from Norway participated during this important event.

 IOP are making changes and bring important and unique things to the life of the Ilula community, and finds that it's possible and encouraging for the children to come to school by bus. The bus facilitates and motivates the parents and children themselves to go to SKT and learn.  Children have extended hours to be at school and learn. Parents have more time to do economic activities while having great time with children in the evening. IO P hired a school bus for two months while making fundraising activities to buy its own bus. A bus was bought in May 2016, mainly paid, by Synnøve and Ole Kolstø, Marita Myklebust, and their families and friends in Norway. The bus costed 26,000USD. Thanks to all who made the bus be available!

 The center  recruited 16 young mothers in 2016, who were at YMEC(Young Mothers Empowerment Center)  for one year in a program  learning  different  things,  and  they  attended  the  session  three  days  per  week. Another  20  will  be  recruited  in  2017. They are  trained  on  child development,  nutrition issues, life skills, entrepreneur, microfinance, business trainings, health and reproductive, gender and leadership. Most of the young mothers (aged between 15 and 21 years) have children who need care all the time, and thus during classes the children stay with them in the classroom, which is a big challenge. Now IOP also ask for sponsors for these children, so that they can stay in the Kindergarten while the mothers are trained in business.

To use this  building for both Preschool and YMEC is great, and will contribute greatly towards IOP's Vision: New standard of living for the Tanzanian Community.

The center is acting as an important Women Information Center as well by empowering girls (Single Young Mothers) to fully achieve health and life skills development. These are guided by the Ministry of Community Development, Gender and Children which sets the standards for handling Single Young Mothers and Youth in particularly. The life that these single young mothers, who are mostly secondary school dropouts, have is really putting their children at the highest risk to face big future challenges. Different stakeholders and interested partners are invited to come and be part of empowering this growing community in our area!

 The idea to build a new Kindergarten at IOP came up in 2013 by Berit Skaare and Kim Ueland  (a Norwegian  volunteer  at IOP 2012/2013) .  Kim  brought the idea to  Sollerud barnehage in Oslo, and they then initiated a collection of funds, where late KFUK KFUM Global came in, and made a guarantee for full financing, and construction started March 3. 2015.

Kim’s family and their friends in Eigersund, also Kims father Osmund, took a big responsibility  in  collecting  funds  to  work with Sollerud  barnehage to complete the plan.  Kim ’s  family  later  also collected funds for furniture, paving and bus to the new kindergarten.