How my partnership with Tiny Totos has opened doors to new opportunities for me

Rose Atsulu (pictured) from Mathare, is the manager of Rise and Shine Daycare, a business she set up in 2014 in her church. The daycare began almost by chance, as she explained:

"I am part of the Apostolic Church, and I would volunteer to help maintain the church and sing in the choir. I would take the baby with me as I worked, and more parents began to bring their children," says Rose.

It was here that she caught the attention of a Tiny Totos (TTK) staff member, who asked whether she would be interested in receiving childcare business training, to learn how to run her daycare better. Always a curious individual, Rose signed up.

She said it was one of the best decisions she ever made.

TTK has taught her so much about childcare – from early childhood development (ECD) to business management, customer care, and nutrition. She had started looking after childcare on the side – but TTK helped her see her work as a profession, with a future. She began to see the limitations of depending on the church to run her business, as her daycare was often prone to interruptions if there was a church activity, some of which could even run for a whole week. Moreover, the children couldn’t really take pride in their learning work as there was no place to hang it.

Thanks to TTK, she gained confidence in securing a dedicate space for her daycare, separate the church.

Rose has since moved her daycare business to a separate rented space with three rooms, which she divides among the children depending on their ages. Apart from learning to run a business, Rose says one of the biggest benefits for her was learning about nutrition and hygiene.

"I learnt the importance of simple things like having a hairnet and keeping my cooking area clean as I prepared meals for the children. I also learned the benefits of preparing balanced and nutritious meals for children. Before this, we would buy only rice and soup to give to them. Now we know to include proteins like beans and vegetables, and fruits for vitamins."

The parents in her daycare love how independent the children have become under her care. Even with those who transition to kindergarten, they dive enthusiastically into their homework, because of the love for learning and structure they acquired at the TTK partner daycare. Rose herself is gaining in confidence and pride in her work every day, especially now she can use a digital app to manage her attendance and payment records:

"Now we have the Tiny Totos’ manager app my work is so much easier. I am still learning, but I enjoy the challenge. I am really happy about my partnership with TTK because it has opened so many doors for me."