Monitoring and Management of Kajoli ECL Centers

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Known for its “fun and game” approach to early childhood learning ( ECL), the Kajoli Model has completed 13 years of exceptionally enriching journey toward community ownership and community participation in early childhood learning. The journey would not have continued without the steadfastness of all those wonderful and highly esteemed communities who despite all their hardships are running over 200 ECL centers in the poorest parts of Bangladesh without any outside financial assistance.

Over the years the Kajoli Model attempted to engage the community in running and managing the whole learning process as the sole integral force. As part of it, the centers are established at places made available by the local people, sometime at someone’s courtyard or unused room or veranda, given willingly for running of the centers. Although community ownership is the basis on which these Kajoli centers are running and it is RIB’s deliberate decision not to hamper their ownership sense, our experience showed that developing certain permanent but light infrastructural facilities in the centers can ensure center’s sustainability to a large extent. Hence since 2012 RIB has undertaken steps to raise limited funds to help certain aspects of infrastructural development that are one-time expenditure, like providing tin roofs for centers that have no permanent place or sinking tube-wells for water supply and toilets where necessary. In this venture, a Sweden-based leading European professional work-wear group Kwintet’s generous support of USD3000 for the second time in 2014 has helped RIB to develop physical infrastructure of 16 Kajoli centers with inputs like land, labor and materials from community. It has also been used to strengthen 03 Mothers Association, financially matching with their own savings that will lead to income-generating work.It is, therefore, a great privilege to thank Kwintet for their commitment to make sustainable difference in the countries and communities where their activities take place.

Given the philosophy of self-help that Kajoli upholds and also limited external funds received only for physical development of the centers, we had to develop a set of criteria to select Kajoli centers for such infrastructural assistance. Nevertheless difficulties to select these centers remained as there were many of them equally strong centers fulfilling all the criteria.

Following are some of the significant characteristics for which we have selected these particular 16 centers over others for financial assistance:

Following is the list of centers that have received infrastructural assistance in 2014:

Center’s Name and Address

Teacher’s Name

Date of Assistance

Paitka Para Kajoli Shishu Shikkha  Bikash Kendro, Dhormopal, Jaldhaka, Nilphamari

Arati Rani

04 June 2014

Purbo Dangga para Kajoli Shishu Shikkha Bikash Kendro, Laxmichap, Nilphamari

Sumita Rani

04 June 2014

Muktarpara Kajoli Shishu Shikkha Bikash Kendro, Choraikhola, NilphamariSadar

Rani Begum

04 June 2014

Kismat Kutub Sutavija Kajoli Shishu Shikkha Bikash Kendro, Magura, Gangachara, Rangpur

ShakilaAktar

05 June 2014

Ucha Bangla Para Kajoli Shishu Shikkha Bikash Kendro,, Alambiditar, Gangachara, Rangpur

Moyna Begum

05 June 2014

Khalishachapani Purnarjhar Kajoli Shishu Shikkha Bikash Kendro, Khalisha chapani, Dimla, Nilphamari

Rumi Akter,

29 June 2014

Magura Dorjipara Kajoli Shishu Shikkha Bikash Kendro, Magura, Kishorgonj, Nilphamari

Marufa

19 October 2014

Magura Poshchim Dorjipara Kajoli Shishu Shikkha Bikash Kendro,, Kisorgonj, Nilphamari

Fatema

19 October 2014

Bormotol Kajoli Shishu Shikkha Bikash Kendro,, Banshdah, Shimulbari, Jaldhaka

SrimotiArpana

14 November 2014

Mistripara Kajoli Shishu Shikkha  Bikash Kendro,, Panchapukur, Nilphamari

Moyna,

22 December 2014

Shrinath Kajoli Shishu Shikkha Bikash Kendro,, Itakhola, Nilphamari

BabyAkter,

24 December 2014

Kacharipara Kajoli Shishu Shikkha Bikash Kendro,, Panchapukur, Nilphamari

Rojina

24 December 2014

Visible changes resulted from the physical development of the centers: