The Arise and Shine Early Childhood Development (ECD) program was started by a compassionate woman named Beatrice who, like many of our partners, saw a need and wanted to do something to address it. After retiring from her position as a teacher, she noticed that children in her community were not attending ECD programs to prepare them for school, so she started a program in her home for children from less fortunate families.

Shortly after that, Beatrice and her husband, Alex, decided to sell Beatrice’s pension and use the funds to build a classroom for the children. They took in 45 children between the ages of 2 and 6, almost all of whom came from very under-resourced homes.

Fast forward to today, and Arise and Shine continues to provide an excellent preschool education to more than 60 students every year. Funding provides salaries for teachers as well as a feeding program that provides breakfast and lunch for the students, possibly the only meals they will receive during the day.

Students who graduate from this program will still need support to get into public school, but they have been given a solid foundation to build on.

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