During my two years living in Mphomwa, Malawi, one thing became all too apparent: there were a ton of small children running around and very few adults available to watch them. Their parents were busy doing the many laborious tasks required to live, farming, cooking over the fire, gathering water, etc, and so the littlest kids around 2-3 years old were largely left in the care of slightly less little kids around 4-5 years old until their older siblings could come home from school.
I was fortunate at the time to be working with some great and passionate educators at the local secondary school where I taught sciences, and one of them, Mr. Joseph Nachiye, approached me about addressing this very issue. Together we worked with the chief and the community to start Seeds of Hope Early Childhood Development Center. We got local volunteers, usually recent secondary school graduates, to lead our little school and volunteers to help cook and serve porridge in addition to helping watch and care for the kids.
Things have gone well the last several years. Parents are glad their littlest ones have a safe place to be, the kids are thrilled to have toys and friends (and caring adults) to play with, and we've gotten great support from the community. We are limited in our growth only by lack of space and lack of funds, no lack of kids.
When you see these kids at their "graduation" ceremonies (in the pictures with their white crowns), and then going on to excel in their classes at primary school, you see a child who has been given a huge boost in life. A child who has a better shot at academic success and achieving their goals. It makes it all more than worth it!
