As we commemorate World Autism Day today, the Managing Director of Pioneer Education Fiji Malisha Chand says she decided to open an inclusive early childhood education centre as there was a need for it.
She says they currently have 5 classrooms with children aged from birth to 15 years old; a total roll of 90 students out of which 36 students are of special needs, and a total of 16 staff, including teachers, caregivers, admin team, kitchen team, and cleaner. Chand says the quality of early childhood education is everyone's responsibility and we need to equip our future generation to be lifelong learners so they become valuable active members of the community.
She says children must learn how to acquire, construct, and communicate in this judgmental society and family members play a crucial role in the basic development of any child.
She says their school provides tutoring services for primary and secondary school students, daycare services, preschool and kindergarten services, after-school pickups, and after-school care.
She says these are the same services as normal school however, she wanted to do something different.
Chand says they decided to make Pioneer Education Fiji an inclusive school but within 3 months it got full and they had to look for a bigger space and they eventually found a flat they are currently occupying in Waimanu Road.
She says with relocation they decided to change their business name from Pioneer Tutoring & Day Care Center to Pioneer Education Fiji since they had further plans for expanding.
She says they managed to secure a grant from Digicel Fiji and upon relocation they created an inclusive outdoor play area.
The business was flourishing but due to the wide spread of COVID-19, they had to close the school.
Chand says she was depressed because regardless of not generating any income, she had to pay the hefty amount of rent for the next 3 months which made her lose at least $12,000.
She says they continued to make arrangements with the landlord but nothing was in her favour which made them vacate the flat.
She says moving out made them lose another $10,000 because they had to return the flat in its original condition, which included removing all outdoor equipment, re-painting, and removing their belonging which got damaged when placed in the store room for the whole year.
Chand says during COVID they continued with Zoom classes which helped them generate income for teachers who were at home with no pay.
She says they didn’t have funds to re-open their school but her mother and close family, friends and team cheered her to start again, because she had faith in her business and she knew this inclusive school was needed.
The Managing Director says this is her dream school which was completely started with her father’s retirement money.
She says as a daughter she could not let her father’s money go down the drain so she wrote letters, made calls, and sent emails to a lot of organisations and higher authorities to help her restart her business, but no one responded to her mail.
They thought their business would not restart but surprisingly the parents of that year decided to pay Pre-paid fees.
She says within a week they had a few thousand in their bank to restart the business, this was not enough but it was enough for them to at least start by paying bond and rent and re-occupying the space.
She says her accountant shared details about Business Link Pacific which was giving grants to businesses and with their help she managed to restart her business.
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