One
of the Capricorn Foundation's main focus areas is education.
Accordingly, the Foundation remained true to being a Connector of Positive Change and making a lasting impact on Thursday, 2 December 2021, when it confirmed the support of N$ 300 000 to the Amos Meerkat
Syllabus (AMS) project. The AMS project aims to equip informal
pre-schools on farms and around farming communities in remote areas of
Namibia with an appropriate curriculum and teaching aids with the
objective of getting children aged 5 and 6 ready for Grade 1.
Due
to the remoteness of areas, long distances, no teaching materials, lack
of knowledge and lack of appropriate means of travel, there are a lot
of pre-school children (5 and 6-year-olds) that do not have the
opportunity to attend a pre-school facility to ensure that they are
school ready and on par with other Grade 1 learners. This is a very
focused and unique need that AMS has been attending to since its commencement
in 2012, reaching 5000 pre-school children every year across the country
from Luderitz in the far south to Katima Mililo in the far North of
Namibia.
The Christian based
curriculum and training program has been put together by trained
teachers to make it possible for a “teacher" (any person that can read
or write English or Afrikaans) to run a small pre-school for the
children on a farm or informal settlement. AMS provide the curriculum
and the materials to support the curriculum, including twelve modular
workbooks for each learner and stationery.
Every
“teacher" who uses the AMS syllabus must attend two one-week training
sessions to equip them in using the curriculum and materials provided.
In addition, skilled local Monitors in each town will visit the schools
that fall under their responsibility once a month to monitor the
implementation of the curriculum. The farm owners where a farm school
operates, currently act as local overseers, responsible for providing a
facility on the farm where the children are taught. Through partnerships
with businesses, foundations, farmers, local churches, and nature
conservation organisations in those areas, the organisation works to
ensure that no child is left out.
“The
Capricorn Foundation coordinates the Group's corporate social
responsibility programmes with the focus areas of Economic Advancement,
Education, Health and Vulnerability Programmes. We have a keen interest
in ECD because 90% of growth of the human brain happens between 3 and 5
years old, and development at this stage is crucial. We want to
continue to work alongside organisations like the Amos Meerkat Syllabus
project to ensure that every pre-school child in Namibia can have the
opportunity to be well educated and be school-ready," said Marlize Horn,
Group Executive: Brand & Corporate Affairs.
