About Timely Kids

The preschool was initially established because some members of the church had to stay home while looking for work. So we started the preschool with four children. At first, however, we lacked a methodology; we didn't know how to approach things. Gradually, we searched the internet and gathered information through self-study, and we networked with other neighborhood facilities and other organizations that worked with children.

Little by little, through networking, we came into contact with Rainbow Village's volunteer program and we got our first volunteers.

The volunteers helped us with our first tables and 20 chairs. Then we started going online, downloading the alphabet, and learning letters and words. We had to teach our teachers. And the teachers learned.

We first had to prepare our staff so they would be prepared for the children. What I mean by that is that they be able to love these children unconditionally, regardless of the tribes and tribal culture they come from. In Namibia, there are these tribal stereotypes. People move within tribes, people do things between tribes. Everything they do has to do with their tribes; they support their tribe. Now we had to get the teachers to not feel like part of this tribe, but to understand the children as they are.

It was a struggle for our teachers, because many people sometimes resist change. We had to fight, we had to fire some staff who resisted these changes, and we had to work with those who were positive about the changes.

The volunteer program began right around that time. We didn't even have toys yet. So we actually started making materials from recycled items. We started collecting bottle caps, plastic bottles, and other items, and then we discussed these things. These were the toys we used. Over time, we realized that some toys are educational and others aren't.

Our volunteers come at regular intervals; some come for six months, some for a year, some for two months. We accepted that and welcomed them. They also brought what they had learned from Germany, and that was all welcomed. We told them not to feel like we already know everything, but that we, too, are here to learn. Whatever they learned in their country might work here too. And then they helped us develop the education and discipline.

You know, in Africa, hitting is a form of discipline. But in Europe, as we learned from the volunteers, it's different, and we started introducing "time-outs," "naughty corners," and other things. It was a bit strange for us to understand these concepts. The way we were raised and told how to discipline children and say "no" to them, and the attitude of "I may have been hit here, but I'm fine," wasn't the case for them. Eventually, we started introducing non-physical discipline; we used other approaches to disciplining our children. And the children began to respond to that, too.

In 2014, we trained four groups of children. This is the fifth year they have been at the school. Most of our children are very high achievers. They are doing really well. We recently received some report cards from their schools, and they are all A's.

Our children are challenged in many ways so they can think outside the box—that's what we expect. And this is the result.