Getting to Know Your International Contacts-Part 2

I explored the Harvard University “Global Children’s Initiative’ website. The information I have gained after reading the “Applying the Science of Early Childhood in Brazil” article is “As part of its Global Children’s Initiative, the Center launched Núcleo Ciência Pela Infância, its first major programmatic effort outside the United States. In collaboration with local experts, this project aims to use the science of child health and development to guide stronger policies and larger investments to benefit young children and their families in Brazil. This project represents a unique opportunity for the Center to work with Brazilian scholars, policymakers, and civil society leaders to adapt the Center’s programmatic model for the local context in order to catalyze more effective policies and programs that will, ultimately, foster a more prosperous, sustainable, and equitable society”.

The article, “Studying the Effects of Global Adversity, Two Generations at a Time” talks about HIV/AIDS and how it is affecting children and their parents in Rwanda. The article states “When humanitarian crises hit around the world, nongovernmental organizations rush into the fray, intensively focused on urgent survival needs, not necessarily on longer-term impacts that may take an even greater toll on the country and its citizens. Betancourt, who is currently studying both former child soldiers in Sierra Leone and children whose parents have HIV/AIDS in Rwanda, says that one reason NGOs may not have incorporated the latest thinking into what they are doing is that there just haven’t been enough studies done on global child mental health”.

I also read the “Zambian Early Childhood Development Project” article. It states that “While a large number of studies have investigated the impact of early childhood experiences on children’s developmental, health, and educational outcomes in developed countries, relatively little evidence is available on early childhood development in sub-Saharan Africa. To address this knowledge gap, the Zambian Ministry of Education, the Examination Council of Zambia, UNICEF, the University of Zambia, and the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University launched the Zambian Early Childhood Development Project (ZECDP) in 2009, a collaborative effort to measure the effects of an ongoing anti-malaria initiative on children’s development in Zambia”. After reading the article, I learned that malaria is still one of the leading causes of death in Zambia.

Lastly, the “Un Buen Comienzo (UBC)” “A Good Start” is a collaborative project in Santiago, Chile, to improve early childhood education through teacher professional development. The idea is to improve the quality of educational offerings for four-to-six-year-olds, particularly in the area of language development. This project is also designed to intervene in critical health areas that improve school attendance as well as socioemotional development, and it seeks to involve the children's families in their education”. After reading this article, I can see that their country is doing the same as ours; trying to do all they can to improve early childhood education.

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative/applying_the_science_of_early_childhood_in_brazi/

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/faculty_and_staff/faculty/faculty_spotlights/theresa_betancourt/

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/activities/global_initiative/zambian_project/

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative/ubc/  

Sharing Web Resources

The website that I chose was The Global Fund for Children. The information that seemed relevant to me was what I read about poverty and its effects on children and their families. Poverty is a serious problem in the area that I live in and many of the children in my classroom are living in poverty. Poverty can have a negative effect on children’s brain development and their lives.

The article that I read states “The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) describes poverty in Lebanon as a serious situation requiring more attention, in spite of some commendable improvement in the last decade. UNDP estimates that 8 percent of the Lebanese population lives in extreme poverty, meaning that almost 300,000 individuals in Lebanon are unable to meet their basic survival needs. Furthermore, approximately 28.5 percent of the population is below the upper poverty line, which is about $4 per capita per day. There are also huge disparities in poverty demographics, with a heavy concentration of poverty in certain regions and increased poverty in urban areas, especially around large cities like Beirut. Many families make a meager living through begging or temporary manual labor, but the sporadic nature of this income limits their ability to plan ahead or save, increasing their vulnerability when faced with difficult life situations. Child labor is also common, as children are required to supplement the income of their families. Children work as beggars, as sellers of various items on the streets, and as manual laborers in various sectors” (The Global Fund for Children, 2014). This information opened my eyes to the many children that I see on the streets trying to make money to help their families. Sometimes when we see children on the streets doing illegal things, they are doing it to make a living for themselves and their families.

This website does not contain any information that could add to my understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, and politicians support the early childhood field. I searched and searched but could not find anything. I did find out that this organization has many grantees to help support them. These grantees serve many of the world’s most vulnerable children.

The insight that I have gained is that many urban and rural areas are affected with poverty. Living in these areas can lead to decreased support for education. In this case, children who are living in these areas and in poverty will more than likely attend schools that have poor facilities and fewer resources.

The Global Fund for Children. (2014). Voices from Hay al-Gharbeh. Retrieved March 29, 2014, from https://www.globalfundforchildren.org/voices-from-hay-al-gharbeh/ 

Child Poverty in Mongolia

When I clicked on the website www.childhoodpoverty.org, the website would not come up. So I did research on the country of Mongolia.

Poverty is a recent reality in Mongolia. Until about 1990 there were virtually no poor people in rural areas. The government and rural collectives made sure that everyone was supplied with basic goods and access to a full range of public services. Poverty has been a direct consequence of the transition to a market economy in the 1990s, after the breakup of the Soviet Union and the collapse of Mongolia's centrally planned economy. Privatization of industry and state farms brought high levels of unemployment. Benefits and assistance dried up. Incomes shrank, inflation devoured purchasing power and people had to bear the cost of health and education services.

Presently, one in three people in Mongolia are poor, and the number of poor people grows as the income gap widens. Poverty is becoming entrenched not only in urban centre but also in rural areas, where about half of the country’s poor people live.

Rural poor people in Mongolia include:

• women who are heads of households
• members of households with more than four children
• families of small herders
• unemployed people
• people without basic education
• vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and disabled people, and orphaned children

Poverty is more likely to affect women than men. In 2002, more than 55,000 households in Mongolia were headed by women, 250 per cent more than in 1990. One in four of these families have six or more children. At least half of the households headed by women are poor.

Rural Poverty Portal. Rural Poverty in Mongolia. (2014). Retrieved March 22,, 2014, from http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/country/home/tags/mongolia

Sharing Web Resources: National Black Child Development Institute

The organization I selected was the National Black Child Development Institute. For more than 40 years, the National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI) has been at the forefront of engaging leaders, policymakers, professionals, and parents around critical and timely issues that directly impact Black children and their families. NBCDI’s mission is to improve and advance the quality of life for Black children and their families through education and advocacy. NBCDI envisions a society that ensures a successful future for all children.

Historically, NBCDI has built a strong reputation for its work in early care and education and child welfare.  Over the years, their mission has benefited millions of children and their families.  As a leading organization working on behalf of children of color, NBCDI’s future is about growth and sustainability, forging new boundaries and promoting strengths-based programs and policies that lift up our children in the context of their families, communities and cultures.

NBCDI newest publication “Being Black is Not a Risk Factor” focuses on how we can support the development of Black children by focusing on their unique strengths. This publication lists “the challenges facing African American children and families and the failure of various systems to address their needs, it also tells the story of resiliency in the face of despair. It is about the risks and the successes of Black families who love and protect their children to the best of their ability. It is also about what African Americans and the larger society can do to ensure a better tomorrow. What is provided here is a handbook for families and community helpers such as teachers, librarians, coaches and policemen, giving them the information they need to recognize the strength of the community and to design services that build on those strengths” (Bowman, 2013).

After reading this article, I learned that there are many statistics for black families and their children. Black children face many challenges now and in the future, but we, as teachers, can do all we can to help them have positive and successful outcomes. Also, even though black children have many challenges, they also have many strengths that can help them overcome the challenges.

Link to organization: http://www.nbcdi.org/who-we-are/who-we-are

Bowman, B. T. (2013). Being Black Is Not A Risk Factor. Retrieved March 15, 2014, from http://www.nbcdi.org/sites/default/files/resource-files/Being%20Black%20Is%20Not%20a%20Risk%20Factor_0.pdf  

 

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

The website that I chose to get in contact with two early childhood professionals was The Global Fund for Children. The two countries that I chose are Middle East and North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. I sent a message through their website that included my name explaining what my assignment was for the next eight weeks. A man name Thom Green responded back to me informing me that he would be glad to connect me with some of the people and to tell him a couple of Working Groups that I am interested in, then he would be able to connect me with someone from those groups. I emailed him back several times, but have not heard anything from anyone thus far.                                                          The early childhood organization that I chose is the National Black Child Development Institute. I chose this organization because I am very interested in learning more about it.

"My Support"

I forgot to add my life challenge. The life challenge I chose is not having my legs to walk. I have an uncle who is unable to walk because he had his legs amputated. My legs help me to walk, run, jump, dance, and many other things. If I didn't have my legs, I would not be able to walk my children to the park, run around the neighborhood with them, do certain exercises, walk around my classroom, or dance. If my support team was not around to help me during this trying time, I would not know what to do. I would have a wheelchair to help me, but it is nothing like have someone around to help, especially your family. My uncle has been through my obstacles throughout his life because he does not have his legs, but he still remains joyful throughout it all because he knows he has a support team to help him during his time of need.

"My Supports"

Some factors within my daily environment that are supportive to me are my husband, children, mother, and job. My husband supports me in everything that I do. When I decided to return to school, he supported me on my decision. When I have an assignment to complete, he makes sure that our children are not in the way of me completing it. My children support me by being there for me when I need them to do extra chores around the house when I am unable to finish them because I have many other tasks to complete. They let me know that they understand when I am unable to go on an outing with them and their father. My mother is my “ROCK”. She helps my husband and I with our children when we need time alone. She makes appointments for the children and is always there to take them to their appointments when I am unable to do so. My job supports me by helping me provide for my family and providing me with the things I want and need. My job also supports me by allowing me to leave whenever my children are sick at school or whenever I have an appointment or something important to take care of.

All of these supports are beneficial to me. These supports have helped me to become the person I am today. Without these supports it would be difficult for me to continue my education and my life would probably be chaotic. If these supports were gone taken away from me, my life would be totally different. I would be so stressed out and unmotivated to succeed in life. I would probably drop out of school. I am so appreciative and happy that I have a wonderful support system that is always encouraging and supportive. I do not know what I would do or where I would be without them.