The Baha'i communities on Savai i and Upola islands offer pre-school education to their local communities. These pre-schools offer a safe, happy and stimulating environment for the spiritual, moral, intellectual, social and physical development of all children.

 

The pre-schools are located in the villages of Puliea and Sasina on the island of Savaii, and in Fagali i, Lefaga and Tiapapata on the island of Upola. 

 

Bahá í communities have been offering pre-school facilities to their communities for several years. Most teachers have been working as volunteers with very few material resources. In several villages, the Bahá í-run pre-schools are the only ones available.

The pre-schools currently serve between 15 and 50 children per school and all pre-schools are now using a specially designed curriculum. Improving school resources and providing teachers salaries are the main aims of the project.

 

BASED-UK provided £500 to develop and translate a basic Bahá í pre-school curriculum and 100 lesson plans. The Baha i curriculum that has been designed includes:

·         2 weeks of initial training for teachers;

·         in-service training;

·         a Bahá í inspector programme.

The salaries of teachers for the pre-schools at Puliea and Sasina are being paid by BASED-UK from January 2007 onwards and more material resources are being purchased.