WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM THE LITTLE ADVENTURERS WITH BIG CAREER DREAMS

Who does a Career Day for children under 12 years? that’s the rhetorical question that Narnia Daycare &  Pre-school often receives since the initiative was launched in 2015. Interestingly some other interest groups find it to be some comic relief and graciously welcome the event as a much needed break from their daily routines.

The organizers on the other-hand are quite convinced that this beautiful show of talents, costumes, character and teamwork surpasses the initial rush of dopamine, they believe it is a strategic foundation that enhances nation building. Some may say this is unwanted heavy lifting and too intense, after all kids must be kids and it’s okay to have fun, well Team Narnia believes that it could be a little bit of both –  Read on to find out why and don’t forget to share your opinions as they matter!

Most countries in the world lack passionate professionals.  A lot of people are doing jobs that they do not like for various reasons, based on varying circumstances. This is why we now have a corruption index, making bribery and dishonesty; infectious diseases. Narnia believes that children must be taught how to think analytically, problem- solve, use their imaginative skills, socialize and absorb good role- modeling from their environment among other things. The educators get the children to understand what a career is, mostly through play. Most times, they get them to do role plays and dress up as people in different works of life, so as to help them understand more.

Narnia, believes that every human is born with a talent. Simply defined as something that you like doing  even without being paid.

If children are raised from a very early age to know the value of doing what they love consistently, they will not depart from it.

Children like seeds, needs to be watered and nurtured. That is why Narnia designed an activity called Career Friday, the school identifies professionals, leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators or people in society based on their love or passion for what they do. They are invited to Narnia as an opportunity to share with the children their day to day job experiences.  The teachers design activities, so that it is easy with illustrations, experiments, role plays, art/ movement.

The positive impact of career profiling and expose for the community is that: it will help the children to understand that white collared jobs such as acquiring a PHD, becoming a doctor, lawyer or engineer are not the only beneficial professions in the world. There are other careers/ professions especially skilled ones, such as fashion designing,  painting and social media strategist that are now filling much needed gaps in our digital world.

Team Narnia strongly believes that smart work, consistency, passion and skills are the winning formulae for successful careers. Parents, guardians, community stakeholders and teachers alike need to embrace these truths – every child is different and it will be socio-economically more significant if we encourage our children to find their pathway(s).

Community education and sensitisation is required on a daily basis (i.e what to expect from different careers). Where would you be – if the farmer went on a strike, the driver refused to drive, the cleaner made a mess instead of cleaning?

Every career is deficient without the other, we all need ourselves. The carpenter or the nanny is as important as the doctor or the lawyer.

In Sierra Leone, we are happy that stakeholders in the government are now putting a focus on technical and vocational educational opportunities. Young people that are willing and ready, will get some access to the master trainer education or experience.

Collectively we can change the mentality of the parent or individuals who think that being a government official, banker or manager are the only beneficial professions in the world. 

It’s collective work and in such we need to create value for people who do certain jobs:

• How many times do you say thank you to your nanny?

• Do you pay NASSIT ( Social Security Tax) for your driver or cleaner?

• Do you value craftwork and  local talent or do you become a strategic negotiator in slashing their price-point? This is where the change starts……….