Introducing Unique's Play School, Day Care & Nursery Program

The history of this institution was originated from the several life experiences of the owner, founder and head teacher of this school Taneka Sanchara.

 

HER LIFE.

Taneka was born in a small village called Ituni, Linden, located in region 10 (Upper Takatu, Upper Berbice). This is where she resided for the first seven years of her life with her grandmother. She then moved to Georgetown police quarters to live with her uncle for the next 9 years. At the age of 16, Taneka then relocated to the settlement of Better Hope, where she was reunited with her mother. Due to unforeseen circumstances, she was unable to complete her secondary education, as she needed to work to help her mother provide for her younger siblings. Her teen years, on the other hand, were spent in church and Sunday school as she grew in love for the gospel and displayed love in the church. She was heavily active in skits, dances and tours, and she met her husband, Anand Sanchara, not long after, with whom she formed a family.

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With this new chapter of her life, her first two children Anthony Sanchara and Younica Sanchara, was enrolled into Crystallites Play Group. It was during this time that she met Cristine Bandu, (the owner of this play group), this powerful woman imparted a lot of wisdom into Taneka which caused their relationship to grow. She spent a lot of time talking about the Bible in the preschool.

Taneka was soon invited to her church, where she got baptized and started working in the church's Sunday School department. Along with her, there were a few caring and compassionate people who assisted her in this area of teaching Sunday school.

Mrs. Sanchara then became involved in the playschool, participating in many activities with her children and receiving an appreciation certificate from the school. When they graduated and went to nursery, she was then elected to be the PTA President of Better Hope Nursery School in 2007. Most of her days were spent there, assisting, supervising, and learning from the teachers and HM.

In a little apartment where her husband and two children lived, she came up with the brilliant idea of building the ark of the covenant out of boxes and mop sticks. It was a day to remember. There were plenty additional opportunities for her to create items at school and church. And from these experiences, she discovered her skills for making craft and being creative.

She now ventured into Montrose Primary School there she took up different positions in the school, she became a bible school teacher where she taught the children of Montrose primary school every Wednesday at lunchtime in the year 2008/ 2010.

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Taneka relocated to Parafaite Harmonie in the year 2010 to live in their new home with her family. This was  a newly opened village on 1st Avenue at 18th Street. Her two children were then enrolled and attended Parafaite Harmony Primary School. In this same year, she became the first Bible school teacher at that school, and she taught a few hundred children once a week.

She began to gain recognition because of this, and a few parents would contact her personally seeking prayers. The Better Hope Assembly of God (her former church) saw this as an opportunity to open an outlet through her building. The children and parents of the neighborhood were interested in attending Sunday school, which soon turned into a church. 

Taneka began receiving requests from members of the church, parents of the primary school, and other members of the community for her to care after their child or children, and this, along with her previously discovered passion for children, motivates her to establish her own school.

She was pregnant with her fourth child in 2011, nevertheless she challenged herself to finish part one of her childcare course. This was done between May and September of 2011 at the University of Guyana, where she graduated with distinction. She further went on to complete the childcare part 2 with Alpha Foundation College between May to September, 2013 then after she graduated with honors. Her certificates were then submitted to the regional board of education with the Child Protection Agency in region 3 requesting permission to open a day care.

Approval was granted after completing the guidelines given, therefore at this time Unique’ Play School & Day Care was fully established.

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THE HISTORY OF THIS SCHOOL

Unique's Play School & Day Care, now officially known as Unique's Play School, Day Care, and Nursery Program, was named after her only daughter, Younica Sanchara, whom she cherishes. She also made it a priority to accredit all of her achievements to God, which is why the school is rooted in religion and is recognized as a Christian-based private school. The initial uniform pattern, the school's emblem and badge, the school's motto, the school's prayers, the school's mission statement, vision statement, aims/goals and philosophy are all well-known components of the institution. On the 3rd of April, 2012, Unique's Play School & Day Care was proudly declared as opened and completely operational.

This now renowned and praised school started off extremely small with only four boys, by the names of Nathaniel, Omari, Infann, and Julieann. Along with one caregiver, who was Taneka Sanchara, Due to the lack of preschools in the new housing scheme of Parafaite Harmonie, the school gained recognition quickly, and through recommendations, it began to grow rapidly. By the month of September of that same year, 10 students were in attendance at the school, and by January of the following year, that number increased to seventeen students. The school went on to host it’s first graduation on the 29th July, 2013.

With each new class of students over the following few years, the school began to establish its own traditions. This school strives to provide each child with a well-rounded experience, from Mashramani festivities, Easter hunts, and cultural appropriation days to summer splash fundraisers, Christmas tree light ups, and Christmas parties. In the year 2014, the school had its first collaboration with Ms. Marva Hestick, the owner and founder of Alpha Foundation College, with whom Taneka has a strong business and friendship relationship. They did a few courses at the school, these were inclusive of sewing, cake decorating, and floral classes, which were offered to the parents of the school and other members of the community. 

In the year 2016, the Ministry of Social Protection Agency in collaboration with the Child Protection Agency, issued licenses to only 13 preschools in Guyana. Among them was Unique’s Play School. This was a huge accomplishment for the school, and it marked a start for a new era of growth and advancement. In this same year Taneka started to create educational books for the students of her school, this agenda grew over the years and now she is able to publish her work. Books are being distributed to regions 3,4,5&10, to assist preschool teachers in their school academia. 

Mrs. Robin Saith Martain, head marketing and sales manager at TVG channel 28, approached Taneka in 2017 looking for a cooperation to launch the Kids Today Leaders Tomorrow (KTLT) TV Show. She was offered the role of host after being interviewed and lead the show's craft segment. The show was fantastic and aired across the country, as one of Guyana’s only local kids show. But owing to the COVID-19 outbreak, it had to be temporarily halted. Taneka also got the opportunity to work with the Guyana Bank of Trade and Industry (GBTI) by teaching crafts at their annual summer camp through the KTLT TV show. They were all so impressed with her job that they hired her for 3 consecutive years. Taneka is appreciative for every experience she has had since it has allowed her to improve both professionally and personally.

It is important to note that the school launched its online platform on the 22nd of March 2017, with the creation of its Facebook page “Unique’s Day Care/ Play School & Nursery Program”, YouTube Page “Unique’s Play School, Day Care & Nursery Program” in 2018, Instagram Page “Unique’s Play School, Day Care & Nursery Program” on the fourth of July 2020. Using these platforms, she was able to share her work and market her books. As a result, her school gained immense popularity among the targeted audience, convincing parents to enroll their child into this institution. The school also implemented payments through GBTI Bank, Republic Bank and Demerara Bank in the year 2019.

Unique’s Play School is known for using its platform for good and giving back to the community. Evidence of this can be seen every year at Easter time, when the school shares Easter hampers to 10 unfortunate families in the community and at Christmas, when the entire school body visited an orphanage to bless the orphans with gifts. Another instance of the school’s love and generosity was shown on the 3rd of August, 2019, when Taneka, along with her assistant, visited an all-girls orphanage for an entire week to do crafts and fun activities with them, and in that same year, she visited a care for the elderly home, where she engaged them in many fun and creative craft activities. Lastly, she hosted online parental courses under Alpha Foundation College. This served the purpose of reaching out to parents during the pandemic to share knowledge on how to teach your child at home, and this was done on October 3rd, 2020.

On December 6th, 2019, Taneka graduated from the board of industrial training in collaboration with UNICEF, a course in early childhood development, and went on to get her diploma at the University of Guyana in 2022. She also completed an ECE (Early Childhood Professional Course) online through Penn Foster College, which lasted two years and graduated with honors. With all this knowledge, she continues to carry her school to higher heights and implement innovative techniques in her teaching system, which guarantees effective learning and development for each child. With a determination for excellence and a stellar team by her side, Taneka Latoya Sanchara has paved the way for this school and she's extremely proud to celebrate 10 years of service with the world. May her legacy lives on. 

- 03/o4/2022.