Co-existence through Pre-schools

This initiative provides multilingual teachings in pre-schools to ensure fair and equal representation within communities. This serves to educate young children about other ethnicities present in their communities and creates respect and tolerance. All generations are seen to benefit from this schooling project as families come together to raise money and restore the buildings.

Description

In Mahagodayaya village the Sinhalese and Tamils children came to the same preschool, where they were taught in the Sinhala language, and therefore the Tamil children had no opportunity to be educated in their own tongue. The initiative started a preschool that teaches in both Tamil and Sinhala in June 2005, and provided this pre-school with the necessary facilities, such as a toilet, playthings and mats. 

Aims / Objectives

The initiative aims to model ethnic unity from the preschool, to instil these co-existence concepts in the next generation of the community, and to provide the opportunity for young children to learn in their mother tongue. The impact of this initiative will be seen as the children grow up, in their attitudes and perceptions towards the other ethnicities. These will be inclusive and welcoming rather than alienating and threatening. The entire community will benefit from a generation who had grown up in such a context and conflicts will be considerably reduced.  

How it is Articulated

UDHF conducted a special training for the preschool teachers (one teacher from the previous preschool and another newly recruited) and discussing about it with the key persons in both the villages and discussions with the community, opened the preschool. Both Sinhala and Tamil are used in communicating with and teaching the children and the teachers work closely with the parents, inviting them to school for regular meetings and discussions. Repairs such as painting and cleaning are done with the support of both Tamil and Sinhala communities. This support is both the act of raising money and also working together on the physical jobs on repair and restoration.

Achievements / Learning Points

In the parental meetings of the pre-school, the ethnic division is not as prominently seen as before. They work together in mixed ethnic groups in activities of the preschool, such as cleaning it or organising a concert of the children. Two Tamil children who graduated from the pre-school go to the Tamil school in the area even when they are proficient in Sinhala, unlike most other Tamil children, who go to the Sinhalese school. Therefore they have learnt to value and be proud of their own language and culture, rather than be ashamed of it and being assimilated into the dominant culture. This initiative can easily be replicated in other areas where people speaking different languages and belonging to different ethnicities live, and its impact upon the community is very powerful, reaching both the children and the adults at the same time. The effect on the conflict is positive and, hopefully, lasting as the root causes of ethnic tension are being addressed. Currently we do not have enough Tamil pre-school teachers, and conducting more pre-school teaching trainings for Tamils would enable the initiation of more, similar pre-schools in the area.

Geographical Area of Operation

Buttala- Mahagodayaya

Funding Resources

Hope for Children.