Building on education

Reaching for the stars: Paulino Tchingande

Paulino Tchingande is 10 years old and is a fourth-grade student at a school in the farming community of Tchissota in Angola.

Paulino is happy to leave his beloved goats and cows to walk the 1km to school every day because he loves learning. He especially enjoys it on “Lego days” when the teacher uses the brightly coloured building blocks to teach them mathematical and other concepts.

“I really like different colours. I have fun with Lego, I learn to count and I also learn other things more easily and quickly than in the past,” says Paulino, who explains that they used to use toothpicks and pebbles in class. 

The Lego Foundation works with JAM by providing packs of their Duplo blocks for their “Six Bricks” programme. Six Bricks is a concept that introduces learning through play. A variety of skills are taught, ranging from fine motor skills and social interaction to reasoning, planning and problem solving.

Paulino’s teacher Franciso Cambiete is grateful for the positive results he has seen in the students since Lego was introduced as an educational tool.

He is also pleased to have inspired Paulino to want to become a teacher himself!