The Early Childhood Care and Development, ECCD, facilitators from Pema Gatshel attended a five-day training at Wongchilo Primary School in Nanong Gewog to tackle the shortage of materials at the ECCD centres. These centres, crucial for early learning, often lack sufficient resources, such as toys, provided by the government.
The training aimed to equip facilitators with the skills to create learning materials from available resources such as wood, cloth, and plastics.
The initiative seeks to enhance the learning environment for children in rural ECCD centres.
“There is no separate budget allocated for the ECCD from the district as well as the gewog. So, we face a shortage of materials in our centre sometimes,” said Kencho Lhamo, a facilitator of Nangkor ECCD Centre.
“The government used to supply the materials during the time of establishment. But we have to replace them and make more materials for the kids. It is very difficult to do it because the parents also have only limited income for themselves,” said Cheki Gyeltshen, who is also a facilitator at Yalang ECCD Centre.
Despite these challenges, the facilitators are optimistic.
They have learned to process materials from waste, enhancing their creativity and resourcefulness.
“This will help improve and develop their skills to make materials that benefit our centres and children. It also aids in the sustainability of material resources,” said Sonam Wangchuk, Deputy Chief DEO of Pema Gatshel.
“We can use waste to develop children’s materials and share our skills with parents. This will help procure materials for our kids and keep our environment clean,” said Cheki Gyeltshen, a facilitator at Yalang ECCD Centre in Pema Gatshel.
“We had an opportunity to learn how to turn waste into useable materials. And I am hoping to pass on my skills to the parents and together we can solve the shortage of materials when we are back at the centre,” said Kencho Lhamo, another facilitator of Nangkor ECCD Centre in Pema Gatshel.
The education sector in Pema Gatshel plans to continue providing up skilling training to facilitators to ensure the sustainability and improvement of educational resources.
Over 20 facilitators participated in this workshop.
Thinley Dorji, Pema Gatshel
Edited by Sherub Dorji
