“I was contacted by the paper factory and told that they want to support the promotion of education in the municipality, to offer various training programs for education workers.”

This is how Tiina Silem, assistant mayor of Anija parish, recalls the recent proposal of Horizon Pulp & Paper Ltd. operating in Kehra. Anija municipality and Kehra’s largest employer have good long-term relations. Yet, such an offer came as a bit of a surprise to the assistant municipality mayor.

“They haven’t been a sponsor at various events before. But the fact that a longer-term program is planned to support education was all the more positive, as the municipality’s budget has become very tight,” added Silem, stressing that good training is expensive.

The managers of the factory asked the education managers of Anija municipality to find out which trainings are most needed. There are three schools in the municipality of Anija, next to the Kehra School (Kehra Kool and Kehra Gümnaasium) there is also the Alavere elementary school and the Aegviidu school, as well as kindergartens. Tiina Silem consulted with all these managers and mapped out the needs in these schools. Then, she ranked different topics by priority. The wishes of the pedagogues were coordinated with the sponsor.

This spring, trainings for kindergarten and school teachers will begin on two of the most popular topics. The first two-day training, attended by 20 pedagogues, will be about dealing with students with aggression. It is based on the Verge methodology.

In the second training, which lasts three days and is attended by approximately 20 kindergarten teachers and 20 school teachers, the teachers will learn to recognize and help children with special needs in kindergartens and schools.

The training costs more than 5,000 euros.

“The next stage of training is already planned for the fall,” says Tiina Silem. The topics for this period are still open for discussion and planning.

About Tolaram

Horizon Pulp & Paper Ltd., which is located in Kehra, belongs to the Singapore-based conglomerate Tolaram. Tolaram is a 100% shareholder of the company.

Tolaram bought the then Kehra pulp and paper plant in 1995.

To date, the company has made significant investments in both product development and increasing the efficiency of the factory. In addition to pulp and paper production, Tolaram has interests in real estate in Estonia. The conglomerate has business units around the world, primarily in Asia and Africa.