Engutoto

Once upon a time there was a young preschool girl from Engutoto, Arusha, Tanzania. Agnes was a curious child and everything interested her. Her father Buda considered it a waste of money to educate her since she was a girl. “She will grow up to only be a housewife and stay home to raise children and benefit my in-laws and not me or our family” he stated, hence taking her to school would be a bad investment!

When he told his boss at the farm house he was repairing about his beliefs, she, being an educated woman and HIS BOSS, knew the blessing of what early childhood education can give.  She wanted all his girls and children to experience the same joys of learning about our world, to be able to celebrate our diversity, and be equipped with the tools for succeeding in the future. She accepted the challenge of offering this opportunity to her employees’ 6 daughters.

It was time to prove to this skeptical father his preschool daughters could learn to read, write and speak English, the language of commerce, higher education and administration while developing their own natural creativity in learning the basics for life.

This was twenty-two years ago. The initial 6 children started classes very simply- in the watchman shed house at the gate, under a shady tree in good weather and the founder's sitting room during rainy days.

Within 2 weeks, these 6 became 27 both -girls and boys as their little brothers would follow their sisters and wait at the gate while their sisters learned and by week 3 and 4 the number had increased to 58-and Engutoto Daycare Centre was born.