Today’s fathers are involving themselves in their children’s growth, in their creativity, education, entertainment, and welfare.
Over the last 26 years, the preschools have built a new norm, starting with parents and widening to include the whole community. Initially parents saw the “crèches” as day care, allowing mothers to work. But they were more: educating the children, preparing them for grace school, was paramount. The community has come to realize that the trajectory of preschool children is different than their peers. They stay in school longer, learn better, and apply themselves harder. They have confidence and ambition. Perceptions changed. Parents came to believe in the power of education, and to support their children’s academic, social, and emotional development.
In Hilda’s view, education is the major factor bringing this change.
Some of today’s parents attended the same preschool as their children. Growing out of poverty can take more than one generation, but the better start they had is passed on to their children. Change comes slowly in traditional villages. The schools lend dignity and respect to marginalized people. Their children travel on nice buses, their schools are well-maintained, their teachers are skillful and dedicated, and their uniforms are snappy. The schools are a safety net for their villages, offering free health care, employment, and food when times are tough. The communities have responded with growing respect and support for the preschools.
They take pride in their preschool and their children.
Parent’s Day brings parents and grandparents to the schools to experience them as their children do. They are presented with a gift of food on leaving, with head teacher Sujitha doing the honors.
Regular parent meetings focus on subjects affecting the children such as health issues, hygiene, child development, abuse, and emotional needs. As they learn how to recognize and address such issues, parents become more involved in bringing up their children: they are supported and empowered. Parents and staff are in a partnership, both committed to thre children, each with their own roles. Parent’s meetings are becoming lively forums for the exchange of ideas, with growth for both staff and families.
Celebrations: Parents love these as much as the children. They are happy and proud to see their children’s growing skills as the dance, sing, and recite in front of hundreds of people. The involvement of community leaders on the stage during functions creates a sense of communal pride and responsibility towards the schools.
Time has proven what the founders intended: the preschools are lifting up the whole community.
“The participation of the parents and community in our school is helping us grow better.”
-Hilda Isaac, Managing director of the Preschools
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Since 2008, HKI donors have stood behind the preschools with trust in their expertise and confidence in their leadership.
Your participation in this grand enterprise is the bedrock it’s built on. Thank you, donors!
