Early Childhood crucial for later development

Empowering caregivers to ensure the early childhood development of infants, is one of the mandates of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare. At a recent 7-week training workshop at Treesleeper near Tsumeb for 35 Early Childhood Development caregivers, they received certificates for their successful completion of the course. The ceremony to mark the end of the training period was held at the Tsintsabis Craft Centre in the Oshikoto Region.

Chief Community Liaison Officer of the Ministry of Gender and child Welfare in Oshikoto Region, Ruusa Kayoo emphasised the importance of the Eearly Childhood Development programmes, saying that the foundation for every child to become an independent adult for his or her life and provide good standard to prepare for life requires guidance from someone from the very point at which the child is born.
Kayoo said it is the responsibility of any parent and the community surrounding the child to make sure that all children have access to shelter and attend early Childhood Development Centres. “It is the parent’s responsibility to make sure that the children have a centre where they come together to play, learn and acquire all the activities around the centre” she said.
At the same time, Kayoo also encouraged the trained caregivers to continue improving their skills through formal institutions to improve their qualifications making them eligible as teachers.
According to Kayoo, the ministry implemented four programmes over the period of the third National Development Plan (NDP3). “The aim is to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment, empowerment of communities and improve the wellbeing of children in Namibia,” said Kayoo.
Early childhood development care and education is widely recognized for its impact on the performance of children in later education and is one of the pillars of laying the foundation for lifelong learning.