A local church has made it their mission to help a woman who has opened a pre-school in Extension 6. Pastor Debbie Sloane said they had identified Mama Anelisa's pre-school because it was in such poor condition, adding that it was the church's way of giving back to the community.
A local church has made it their mission to help a woman who has opened a pre-school in Extension 6. Pastor Debbie Sloane said they had identified Mama Anelisa's pre-school because it was in such poor condition, adding that it was the church's way of giving back to the community.
She told Grocott's Mail that they found out about the Extension 6 pre-school through a woman who is part of a beads project, which is also headed by the River of Life Church.
Mama Anelisa started the school to help people in her community who needed a place to send their young children. But she runs it from her own home and it needs renovation. Sloane said the roof was leaking and there were no ceiling boards in the school.
"It was in a really bad condition and there were no heating facilities, "she said. The church provided chairs and tables and other educational equipment for the children to enable the children to work more effectively.
"We painted and repaired the outside and the inside of the building. Some of our members also volunteered with the work and repairs," Sloane said.
She said at first they were hosting parties for the children. "This was a decision to do something more sustainable. We identified the project in August and worked through September. We hosted a variety of talent concerts to raise funds for the pre-school, while some people donated things," Sloane said.
She said Mama Anelisa runs the pre-school from her own pocket. "We want to make this an ongoing thing and we want to help in different ways and we have people in our church who want to provide worksheets for the children," she said.
Sloane told Grocott's Mail that this was phase one of the project, saying they wanted to do more to help Mama Anelisa. She also runs a beads project for unemployed people.
