The Perivoli Schools Trust Education and Child Care Model: exploring communities’ lived experiences and the wider social and environmental impacts in Namibia

This abstract fits closely with three sub-themes as noted above: poverty and social inequalities4, climate change and social work and social development6, and social work social policy and the Sustainable Development Goals14.
The Perivoli Schools Trust (PST) is an educarer training programme which offers free training for early childcare and education professionals who support children aged between 0-4 years old through centre-based provision. The programme began in Namibia in 2012 and has since been expanded to other countries in southern Africa. Namibia is ranked as a middle-income country but has one of the most unequal distributions of income per capita in the world, with more than 43% of people living in poverty4 (NSA, 2021).
Whilst the PST programme is present in all of Namibia’s 14 regions, it is more prevalent in rural and poor areas4 because of its strong focus upon the capacity building of staff4 and the sustainable use of waste materials to make educational toys and activities in the absence of funding and resources6. The project connects closely with the UN Sustainable Development Goals 3, 4, 5 (good health and wellbeing, quality education, and gender equality4) 12 and 13 (responsible consumption and production, and climate action6), and the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development in promoting sustainable communities and wellbeing through sustainable human relationships (IFSW, 2012)14.
This paper presents the findings from the 3-year collaborative qualitative study between the University of Namibia and the University of Bristol, UK. Interviews (n=), focus groups (n=) and creative workshops (n=6) were undertaken in six early years centres, within three diverse regions in Namibia. Data was thematically analysed collaboratively by academics from both partner institutions using a virtual platform to identify emerging themes. The preliminary findings from the project will be presented by the project team and shared for discussion.