Sabine Bohlen-Roß is our senior expert for teacher training:

Further training and workshops on basic pedagogical knowledge and the practical application of the acquired knowledge took place during each stay. However, it was and remains important that the rooms and school grounds are always designed in a child-friendly way and that the timetables and daily schedules are implemented in a sensible way.

Andreas Roß, Okakarara

The Senior Expert Service (SES) sends experts from all over the world to countries where development cooperation needs to take place after a thorough assessment. Sabine Bohlen-Roß, social pedagogue and Gestalt therapist at the Schule an der Gartenstadt in Hamburg, came to our project in Okakarara through a small appeal by SES in the newspaper. That was eight years ago. It is now impossible to imagine steps without her and she has been a great help: this year she was back in Namibia for four weeks and provided the teachers with intensive and sustainable pedagogical and psychological training.

My first task in 2012 was to adapt the state curriculum to the level of knowledge of the local teachers and, of course, to teach the subject matter.

Andreas Roß, Okakarara

The further development of such a curriculum for the preschool and afternoon classes at steps for children remains one of the tasks each year. However, guidance on structuring everyday working life is also an important part of the training, as is the expansion and consolidation of learning concepts in the area of early maths, the importance of play in child development and the role of the teacher. Together with project manager Sonja Schneider-Waterberg, methods and knowledge are taught effectively and quickly despite different cultural and ethical values and mentalities as well as language barriers. Through the annual visits and further training courses, Sabine Bohlen-Roß is always able to see for herself how successfully the previously developed teaching sequences are being applied or to make new adjustments and adapt further training measures.

We are very grateful to SES that we are able to use Sabine and other experts so continuously for our projects in Namibia - it is a great benefit for the quality of our work and brings cultures together in an intensive way to learn with and from each other!

Many thanks also to you, dear Sabine, for your valuable support!