REACHING OUT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
What has started out as an outreach programme has become something quite completely different.
“We were all unprepared for the transforming effect of the project: it has become an important provider of good quality early childhood development, dubbed “a shining light and a model for community partnerships” by the former Minister of Social Development” Says Alistair Stewart, Head of Advancement, St Stithians College.
St Stithians College have been involved in partnering with the Nehemiah Education Ministry in Ivory Park since 2000. They have developed 5 Early Childhood Development Centers in and around Ivory and Ebony Park and their MySchool funds are contributing directly to this outreach programme.
In 2016 they also began a Primary School which is now benefitting from ongoing support from the school. The ECD and primary education centres are not simply donations but true partnerships: the schools and the community work together to support resource development and resource sharing, teacher training and outreach and also forms part of an ongoing partnership that believes in quality education opportunities for all children.
The Nehemiah Pre- Schools afford early childhood and primary education to approximately 500 children in Ivory and Ebony Park. Their existence and sustainability is largely due to the generosity of spirit of the Saints community. Their involvement in the nursery schools is an opportunity for educational engagement for the Prep Boys, taking them beyond the boundaries of St Stithians and has proven to be enormously beneficial for the boys and the community.