Tennis legend Roger Federer has donated to Malawi over 3000 tablets which have content to capacitate early childhood development mentors.
The tablets which Federer handed over to Minister of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare, Patricia Kaliati on Tuesday, allow access to knowledge and learning regardless of place, time and qualification.
The early learning kiosks which consist of several items like Solar pannel, a battery and a tablet, will be used in different Centres across Malawi to teach kids in Early Childhood Development Centres as they prepare for primary education.
The tablets comprise a knowhow app, which is a comprehensive course on early learning and is self-guided to be done in learning groups with audio, videos and an African storybook attached to it.
They also contain a child steps app, which is an important tool to monitor children’s development in a continuous manner. In addition, the App is activity based and also includes an attendance register, giving caregivers get guidance for their lessons.
Kaliati said the tablets will provide all the content a caregiver needs to provide their children with quality preschool education.
She urged mentors who have received the tablets that they will be arrested if they sell the gadgets.
Roger Federer, who is founder and president of the Roger Federer Foundation, said children in Malawi deserves quality education and the foundation believes that investing in early education is investing in the better future of the county.
One of the beneficiaries, Fyness Dickson Phiri of Yankho ECD in the area of Traditional Authority Dambe in Mchinji district, said the tablets will assist them in the provision of quality education in the ECD centres across the country.
In Malawi, the Foundation has already constructed and upgraded over 400 Early Childhood Development centres accross Malawi of which 80 of them were upgraded to Model Centres.
Roger Federer Foundation has been working in Malawi since 2011 and has poured USD18 million into education in the country.
