A Learning through Play Initiative
One Year into the Hape-Huji ‘Preschool of the Future’Project
Making Dreams Come True
In southwestern China’s Yunnan province, set amid beautiful green mountains, fresh air and stunning rice terraces, 5-year-old Meimei giggles while she uses the lipstick and eye shadow from her wooden cosmetics play-set. Like every little girl, Meimei dreams of being a princess, and the make-up toy set has helped her make that dream come true.
Meimei is a preschool student at one of the 20 Hape-Huji POF (Preschools of the Future) Kindergartens, that the Hape Group together – with its subsidiary company, European EducationAll (Ningbo) Ltd. (hereafter as EEG), and in collaboration with the Shanghai Huji Foundation and the German Association for Economic Cooperation (Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, DEG) – began to provide funding for in 2021. The project aims to strengthen access to, and quality of, early childhood education for 3–6-year-olds in rural Yunnan, China.
Play-Based Learning for More Than 35 Years
Caring for children’s well-being and supporting their development through play-based learning has been central to our culture for more than 35 years, and that is why we are committed in supporting children and families from around the world whose access to early childhood education remains a challenge. In rural Yunnan, China, where the 20 preschools have been set up, households and families are often scattered throughout the area, living in isolated pockets. Before the Hape-Huji POF was established, many parents did not fully understand the importance of early childhood education, but one year into the project, awareness and appreciation has significantly improved, and the enrolment of children at our preschools has increased by nearly 10%.
Rural communities often are confronted with recruitment issues and problems with the retainment of high-quality teachers. Recruiting homegrown teachers that are familiar with the local culture and language, and comfortable teaching in a remote school environment, can help to tackle these problems, and that is why teachers are actively recruited from the local community to join the POF training in play-based learning program. Of these recruits, women make up 90%, earning an education and achieving economic empowerment through the initiative.
Helping 484 Children on Their Educational Journey
While the teachers are in the process of building their knowledge and skills through training, it is the project‘s goal that most of its teachers become certified by the hand-over date of 2025. Accordingly, the project has partnered with a local vocational school in order to offer additional courses to improve the training teachers’ professional abilities. Moreover, in February this year, the Hape Group – together with its subsidiary EEG – organised online training for the toys that were previously donated, helping the teachers to better understand the educational value behind each toy and explaining the different ways that the toys can be utilised in the classroom.
As of now, the Hape-Huji POF project has benefited up to 484 children, and helped the local communities involved develop in a significant way. Preschool education has a profound impact on a child’s development – and on their entire educational pathway thereafter – and, by joining forces with our partners for this project, we are happy to give Meimei and all the other Hape-Huji Preschool students a helping hand on their educational journey.