Skopje, 9 November 2022 (MIA) - After 40 years, Strumica got a new kindergarten with the capacity to take care of over 300 preschool children. The new kindergarten, "Rainbow", is a modern facility with conditions for accommodating children according to the latest standards. The value of the building is MKD 108,610,000, most of which comes from the Labor Ministry through the World Bank's Project for the Promotion of Social Services and the Municipality of Strumica provided its own funds in the amount of MKD 17,500,000. The opening of the kindergarten was addressed by Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski, who pointed out that it is a big problem for a family to function well if there is no kindergarten for their children, and therefore the focus of the current Government is to build kindergartens and cover all cities equally. - Strumica is getting a new corner for the little ones today. The new kindergarten "Rainbow" is the largest in Strumica and the only one with a capacity of 17 educational groups where over 300 children will be cared for. As a government, we contribute to the beautiful, carefree and happy growth of children and we are dedicated to long-term investment in children. The Minister of Labor and Social Policy, Jovanka Trenchevska, emphasized that the Government and her ministry invest in preschool education, as an essential prerequisite for quality early childhood development, where children, as she said, will be able to grow carefree and learn through play. - The opening of the "Rainbow" kindergarten is an important capital investment for the Municipality of Strumica and its citizens. With this modern, energy-efficient kindergarten, we solve the issue of childcare in the Municipality of Strumica. This kindergarten is the largest not only in the Municipality, but also in the territory of the entire country, with the capacity to take care of 307 children, said Trenchevska. The mayor of Strumica, Kostadin Kostadinov, emphasized that new residential areas are springing up in the Municipality and therefore new facilities are needed for the needs of the citizens, and the smallest residents have the advantage. With the new facility, they meet the young families in that part of the city. - Our city is getting a new kindergarten after 40 years... Together with the Ministry and other institutions, we completed a huge capital project and closed a burning issue for children and parents in Strumica. Together with the expansion of several kindergartens in the Municipality, with the new kindergarten we are solving the issue of accommodation for children of preschool age. The city is getting a modern facility for children, with the latest childcare standards, similar to kindergartens from the most developed European and world countries. The kindergarten will be even more beautiful soon with the children's chatter in it, said Kostadinov at the opening of the kindergarten. The representative of the World Bank Office in the country, Bojana Naceva, emphasized that the Project for the Promotion of Social Services establishes a quality system of social services at the municipal level and contributes to the common commitment to increase the capacities for comprehensive and quality learning and care from early childhood. – The Labor Ministry and the Government have seen the benefits of investing in interventions that contribute to the holistic development of the smallest and are strongly committed to the idea that early childhood is a critical period for development. The World Bank is a dedicated partner of North Macedonia in building productive human capital in order to jointly build better conditions for the development of children who, in turn, will be the bearers of the development of the municipality, but also of the entire country, added the World Bank official. dk/ba/