By Ashley Nemiro | Co-founder
As we enter into spring the rain comes with less frequently in eastern DRC and the dry season follows. With the dry season comes more accessibility to road access and gives the Mamas a shorter commute. In Bukavu (where the Mamafrica center is located) roads are not paved and in the wet season months mud inhibits women from coming to work. Needless to say, we celebrate the spring season each year! Spring has also brought the opening of our new nursery center!
Located at the Mamafrica center, our nursery allows women to bring their young children to work with them each day. We currently have nineteen children that attend daily and in addition we have hired one of the Mamas Denise Kajamwe to run the program. The nursery program allows the women to bring their young children to work who are still breastfeeding and ensure that they are safe throughout the day. In addition, we provide the children with a structured schedule throughout the day and they are able to engage in many learning and development activities.
8.00 : Arrival
8.30 : Greetings
8.35-10.30: Story time/Reading
10.30-12: Singing and Games
12-1 : Lunch
1-2: Nap
2-3: Arts and Crafts
3-4: Free Time and Preparing to Return Home
Denise reports,
"Nampenda nafasi yangu mpya katika Mamafrica na kujisikia wenye heri kwa sababu Mamfrica alinipa nafasi ya kutunza watoto marafiki zangu katika siku. Kuwa na kitalu ni muhimu sana kwetu kwa sababu sasa tunaweza kuhakikisha kwamba watoto wetu yetu salama na kuchukuliwa huduma ya siku nzima. Pia Mamafrica hutoa yao na chakula na maji safi ya kunywa, ambayo ni kitu ambacho wao si mara zote kupata nyumbani wakati sisi ni gone kazini. Mengi ya sisi mama zetu moja na kwa hiyo hawana wengine kutusaidia huduma kwa watoto wetu. Nimebarikiwa na furaha kuwa sehemu ya jumuia ambayo anayejali sana kuhusu elimu na kurutubisha maisha ya vijana ya Kongo"
"I love my new position at Mamafrica and feel blessed that Mamfrica gave me the opportunity to take care of my friends children throughout the day. Having a nursery is very important to us because now we can make sure that our children our safe and taken care of throughout the day. Also Mamafrica provides them with food and clean drinking water, which is something that they are not always getting at home when we are gone at work. A lot of us our single mothers and therefore do not have others to help us to care for our children when we attend work. I am blessed and happy to be part of a community that cares so much about educating and enriching the lives of the youth of Congo".
Beyond our new nursery program at Mamafrica we are employing women in a region where 85% of women are formally unemployed and 65% of families eat one meal a day. We build community, provide education and literacy courses, and focus on generational change.
If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. ~ African proverb
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