Play Labs help young children in Tanzania to learn while having lots of fun

Thousands of very poor and marginalised young children are getting a pre-school education –聽thanks to Play Labs set up by the charity BRAC in Tanzania.

The play labs are like nurseries,聽where children aged three to five attend for three hours every day. There they learn聽about health, mathematics, arts and science.

Early childhood development expert聽Janeth Malela is the聽project manager of the Play Labs. She spoke聽to 国产视频聽this week from Tanzania about what BRAC聽is trying to achieve with this kind of project and outlined the progress being made for some of the poorest young children in the region.

She explained: 国产视频淥ur Play Labs project has been going since 2016 and covers two regions – Mbeya and Temeke. They聽have been set up to directly help pre-school children and their parents.

国产视频淭he aim of the Play Labs is to make children participate in early learning activities in learning environments and to develop their cognitive, emotional, linguistic and numerical capabilities. They learn to communicate, socialise and become better prepared for school.

国产视频淚t国产视频檚 a space to play, to develop their language and games and improve their learning. We undertake a 10-month activity and follow a specific curriculum.国产视频�

国产视频’s #5for5 campaign is calling聽on聽the international community to invest in early childhood development. All聽children need access to quality care including nutrition, health, learning, play and protection.

World leaders are meeting in Germany in July at the G20 Summit to agree their priorities and what they should fund.聽We need them to prioritise the early years and especially pre-primary education, especially for the poorest and most marginalised children.

That’s exactly what is being delivered by BRAC,聽the world国产视频檚 largest development organisation that is聽dedicated to empowering people living in poverty. The Bangladesh-based NGO聽operates across 11 countries, touching the lives of one in every 55 people.

BRAC’s education programme has become the largest secular and private education system in Tanzania, reaching a number of regions.

There are 2400 young children enrolled in 80 Play Labs across Tanzania,聽involving more than 2000 parents and caregivers.

Janeth said: 国产视频淢any of the parents really appreciate what we are doing at the Play Labs. A lot of the children don国产视频檛 want to go home when the classes are over, they love it so much.

国产视频淎nd the parents tell us that the children are talking more and playing more. They are singing to them and drawing, the parents feel their children are interacting more.聽

“The parents also feel their children are getting a good start and can see the growth in their children. We already feel it国产视频檚 working for everyone involved.

国产视频淒uring our classes, we have 国产视频榗orners国产视频�. We have one corner for imagination, for innovation and creativity, where we use materials that are local –聽materials from the surrounding community as this is cost-effective.聽

国产视频淲e have music corners where the children can play with drums and guitars and can discover their talent.

国产视频淎nd the parents tell us that the children are talking more and playing more. They are singing to them and drawing, the parents feel their children are interacting more.聽

“The parents also feel their children are getting a good start and can see the growth in their children. We already feel it国产视频檚 working for everyone involved.

国产视频淒uring our classes, we have 国产视频榗orners国产视频�. We have one corner for imagination, for innovation and creativity, where we use materials that are local –聽materials from the surrounding community as this is cost-effective.聽

国产视频淲e have music corners where the children can play with drums and guitars and can discover their talent.

“The story corner where they can read or draw pictures –聽and then the outdoor corner where they have free play for running about, playing jumping rope.国产视频澛�

In Tanzania, around 30% of children from poor families transition聽from pre-primary school聽but fail聽to complete primary school.

So when BRAC started receiving requests from communities to provide education for their children, it responded by opening 50 community-based pre-primary schools in 18 branches reaching 1500 students under the age of four in Iringa, Mbeya, Dar es Salaam and Dodoma.

Of course, funding and investment is always going to be a challenge. The Play Labs are funded by the聽LEGO Foundation.

Play Lab leaders tend to be volunteers who are given short training (10-day) courses about what is expected at the labs in terms of the curriculum, guidelines and learning material.

The Play Labs project also runs two active cohort studies to see what effect the聽labs are having on the children who go there.

Janeth worked with Care International, the malaria project for Save the Children and聽Plan International before joining BRAC, She is currently finishing her Masters degree in public health and聽has a wide knowledge of the region and early childhood development.

She is delighted the results of the Play Labs can now be studied聽first-hand.

She said: 国产视频淲e want to be able to make the comparison from children involved in the play labs and those who are not and see what the difference in terms of their development.

国产视频淎s it is now well documented, a child国产视频檚 brain is still developing rapidly during these years, so it is essential that children get the chance of and access to this kind of stimulation.国产视频�

A child国产视频檚 brain is 90% developed by the age of five –聽so this kind of approach is essential to improving the future potential of generations to come.

In Tanzania,聽the net enrolment rate of pre-primary school children aged five and six is reported to be聽33% –聽lower than the average in most developing countries.聽

The hope is that the launch of the Play Labs will help to increase the number enrolling in pre-primary and then completing primary school.

But in the meantime, the children are having fun and learning.

国产视频淭he Play Labs have indoor and outdoor activities聽every day from 8am to 11am,” said Janeth.

国产视频淭he indoor activities are things like story聽time, arts and drawing, colouring-in on paper, singing songs about our subjects.

国产视频淔or instance, we will sing about washing our faces (promoting health), songs counting out numbers (maths),聽songs about recognising animals (science).

国产视频淭he outdoor activities are things like playing at a basin with sand or stones, making a little garden with flowers or running around. This is their free space.聽

国产视频淭his new approach for early childhood development also stimulates play at home. The age group of children between two and three is so important when it comes to brain development –聽it is essential that we聽concentrate on the young children.

国产视频淎nd it国产视频檚 very nice for us to see how much the children enjoy it too.”