Piyumi de Silva and her mother Yamuna have started a Day Care and preschool for very small children. 

What made you start ‘International Children's House’?

Piyumi - My whole family loves children! I always wanted to work with children and now I have simply turned my passion in to a profession because it’s the most rewarding job in the world I could think of and the fact that no single day at work is the same.
The inception of International Children’s House in 2006 is the outcome of the same interest and passion mom and I share.
 
Yamuna - After moving back to Sri Lanka and having observed many pre-schools and early learning centers we saw an immense need for quality programs in this field. There are many preschools and daycares in Colombo but they lack in standards and quality of the programs they offered for the little ones. So myself and Piyumi knew exactly what was needed and where to contribute our expertise towards and that was the start of International Children’s House.
 
What kind of training have you had?

Piyumi - I completed my Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education at Long Beach City College and I graduated with my Degree in Child Psychology majoring in Early Childhood Development from California State University Fullerton.
Living and working in the US gave me endless and extremely rewarding opportunities to work, gain experience in both private sector and the unified school districts of California and to be exposed to many developmental stages and vital areas of early education.
I have taken part in many workshops, volunteering programs and observation programs related to different areas of development including creative arts, science in early learning, language arts, music and movement in early years, multicultural approaches in learning and etc.
I was awarded for my dedication to the field by the Long Beach Chapter of California Association for the Education of Young Children in 2003. Also being an active member of NAEYC helps me to improve myself in this field and practice and train our staff with best nurturing approaches in Early Childhood Education.
 
Yamuna - Being a mother and having the passion to work with children inspired me to pursue my Diploma in Montessori. After migrating to the US, I got the opportunity to work in this same field, do further studies specializing in Infant/Toddler at Long Beach City College and completed the certification and training program in ‘Supervisory & Administration’ from University of California Los Angeles.
 
What are the problems you encountered?

Piyumi & Yamuna - Finding the right staff! So far the hardest challenge is getting suitable staff. We are extremely peculiar with the educators we take in. 
It isn’t at all hard to work with us if they genuinely love children. First we see to their level of patience and their nurturing ways to deal with children, then we check in to required credentials and finally they get our training to become a team member at ICH. So far we are blessed with our current ICH team.
 
Piyumi - We unquestionably need better Teacher Training Centers here in Sri Lanka. Especially in Early Childhood Education. This is another area I am very passionate about and working on, soon we will have our own Teacher Training Center.
 
How do you manage handling such small children?

Yamuna - We are the only school that takes in infants young as 6 weeks. This is something new in Sri Lanka simply because the Sri Lankans have the privilege of getting support from their families, nannies and maids. But this is a very young common age of a 6 week old infant starting with a program abroad due to the fact both parents must work and they have no extended support with childcare at home. This is extremely challenging but it is not hard at all. 
Piyumi - I honestly don’t see it as a hard task at all. May be because I am so used to it and so comfortable working with children so young that it has become a part of me now. 
I have two little girls of my own aged almost 3 and 4 years and they have been coming to school with me since they were 4 weeks too.
The real challenge for me is giving the parents the needed comfort with separation anxiety between the parent and the child. 
I truly understand how they feel and want them to be comfortable as much the child during this transition time.

Is your project very expensive or is it affordable for middle-class parents?

Piyumi - This is a highly needed service we provide to the community with childcare while we focus on their education, and its main concept is to focus on the first 5 years of learning, which is the most fundamental period of every child. The positive and right foundation we layout is what they will carry lifelong and thus it is a need for every child. 
This field requires a lot of dedication and time. When the parents know that their children are in our care, we take that sole responsibility and keep the trust and do what we do best. So taking all these in to count, I think it’s very affordable.
 
Yamuna - With strictly maintained ratios and the expertise we offer, we are definitely not expensive.
 
What were the results of your "Open House" project on 24th January 2019?

The ‘Open House’ at our 1st branch in Battaramulla was very successful. We had many families with little children who visited to see the setup of the school. 
Our main school in Colombo has been in existence for 12+ years. We had many parents living in Battaramulla and Hokandara areas who have requested us to consider operating another branch with the same concept there. So now we have ICH Battaramulla and we have limited spots available at this branch. We are now open for enrollments for May 2019.
 
What is your vision for children and their education?

Piyumi - 
For the Children - To give every child a head start and the privilege of quality programs during the First Five Years.
For their Education - To have a Teacher Training Center where you make teachers more nurturing and more passionate with what they do knowing through that every child will benefit in all areas including Cognitive Development, Social & Emotional Development, Speech & Language Development and Physical Development as a ‘Whole Child’.

By: Sirohmi Gunesekera