Annually, the Mwangaza Education Centers directly benefits about 150 children between the ages of 3 and 6 as well as at least 75 adults. Indirectly, the Centers lift the burden of childcare from the children’s caretakers for much of the day and bring regular activity and educational opportunities to what is currently a community with low literacy levels and no access to early childhood education. 3834 2 false The majority of children living in this remote area of Meheba Settlement have never had access to early childhood education. Preschool education offered through the Mwangaza Education Centers prepares children to succeed when graduates matriculate to Basic School. Lack of access to education and illiteracy are widespread problems among adults. Providing writing, reading and language education to adults in the community enables them to better communicate within their culturally diverse community and with people in their host-country, Zambia. 2008-06-05T14:21:19-05:00 Each of the Education Centers offer both preschool and adult literacy and language classes. Preschool classes provide access for all children in this large community to basic education in literacy and arithmetic. Regular Parent-Teacher Association meetings involve the families of students in their education. The Education Centers also provide literacy and English language classes for adults. The Centers are entitled Mwangaza, meaning "light" in Swahili, because the community believes the Centers enlighten the lives of all the refugees living in the surrounding area. To provide early childhood and adult literacy education in a community with a high percentage of young children and low literacy rates. 25 <ul> <li>Conducting daily exercises in basic literacy and arithmetic <li>Leading lessons that develop play skills, communication and teamwork tools <li>Hosting monthly Parent-Teacher Association meetings to involve families as volunteers and solicit feedback on student progress <li>Teaching adults both reading and writing skills as well as how to read, write and speak in English </ul> #<Location:0xb46322c> 1 <ul> <li>To prepare 150 of the children living in the surrounds of the Center for primary education annually <li>To ensure at least 90% of the preschools’ graduates matriculate to local Basic Schools <li>To eliminate the burden of childcare up to 5 hours a day for caretakers living in the community <li>To ensure that both men and women are given the opportunity to learn to read and to write <li>To increase the number of community members who can communicate in English </ul> Early childhood education in Block F of Meheba Refugee Settlement is practically nonexistent. With the nearest school over a two hour walk from this community, few of its children have had the opportunity to attend preschool, starting them off at an educational disadvantage very early in their lives. Because of these restrictions, the leaders of Block F have planned and proudly established the Mwangaza Education Centers, a network of services in the camp that will promote early learning through preschools and continued learning through adult education classes. As the name of the center, “Mwangaza” (“light”), suggests, this project represents hope and possibilities for a brighter future for these refugees. false Fostering learning across lifetimes one year 2010-03-10T09:25:45-06:00