Saturday, July 1, 2017

Final Blog Assignment


Learning about early childhood through the international lens has left a lasting impact on me. One impact was learning the importance of research. Data is what helps to make change. The lives of millions of children count on the research to assist with change. Invest in the most excluded children now at risk a more divided and unfair world.





Learning about early childhood through the international lens has left a lasting impact on me. One impact was learning the importance of research. Data is what helps to make change. The lives of millions of children count on the research to assist with change. Invest in the most excluded children now at risk a more divided and unfair world.



Research and Reports  
 

A second consequence is not sitting on the sideline but getting involved. There is a shortage of volunteers. This is true in the United States. It takes a special person to get involved and help children without being paid. Joining agencies that work around the world can help change children’s lives around the world. I wish I could do more. I am humbled by this experience.


A third consequence was learning the state of early childhood education around the world.


Millions of children are trapped in an intergenerational cycle of disadvantage that endangers their futures – and the future of their societies.


It is important for early childhood professionals to work together to find ways to enhance the lives of children around the world. We are more alike than we are different. Research and collaboration is what it will take to make the changes that will save lives of many families around the world and here in the United States. I want to continue my research on the field and advocate for the right for every child no matter their nationality or socioeconomic status to get an education.



Research and Collaboration
Image result for image of research and collaboration

Friday, June 23, 2017

Professional Goals, Hopes, and Dreams







Early childhood education has become an important topic of conversation because of the lead tainted water and so many children being exposed to the water. There are programs being offered at many different institutions where these programs have not been offered before. The concerns of many is getting enough qualified teachers to teach fulfil the need. Finding one qualified lead teacher has been challenging. There has been talk of developing the para-professionals and extending their training to fill in the gaps. However, with every good idea comes the problem of funding. While there has been grants and government help, it is not enough. Many parents of the children who were exposed to the lead tainted water are grateful for the opportunities for their children to get the extra help. Many professionals report they are starting to see behaviors in the children who have higher lead levels.


The area colleges in Flint, MI have offered classes at reduced rates for those who can qualify. There have been free trainings for teachers and educators offered at Genesee Health Systems and throughout the community. There has also been a group coalition of professionals from multiple disciplines who come together and brainstorm about opportunities and how to help the children with high lead levels.


Some of my professional goals are to provide as much support and knowledge as I can to help the children in Flint, MI. After I complete this certificate program, I do not see myself going into a classroom; as I am nearing retirement age. However, I have consulted and participated in the coalition of professionals to see how I can help make a difference. I will continue to do so. My hopes and dreams would be to know that all of the children who were exposed to the lead water recover 100% and go on to live healthy and happy lives. I also hope the water lines will all be replaced so that this does not happen to any more children. I know our mayor is working hard to get the funding for this huge project. Some of the challenges that I see is money. Our governor does not want to pay for the replacement of the pipes in the city. That is an ongoing debate. While they are debating, many families are still living on bottled water. There has been some progress but we still have a long way to go. We continue to fight for what is right!

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Sharing Web Resources




This is a picture from the Global Fund for Children's FB page. There were many wonderful photos of children who appear to be healthy and happy. I received correspondence from Susan Goodell inviting me to look at the page. Here are some more photos.



The Girl Effect
We love this video about The Girl Effect! Watch it now and click 'like' to help spread this important message.













Saturday, June 10, 2017

The Global Childen's Initiative


Greetings! Exploring the Global Children’s Initiative website, I found some interesting information. The Global Children’s Initiative provides support to research activities led by affiliated faculty members of the Center who work closely with researchers and institutions in low- and middle-income countries around the world. Each project has fostered interdisciplinary collaboration to generate new evidence and insights about how child development unfolds in diverse cultural contexts. According to the Center for the Developing child, it is estimated that 200 million children fail to reach their full developmental potential by age five. There were many interesting and informative stories from around the world that was fascinating. For instance:

In Canada, the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative supports research in early brain and biological development, mental health, and addiction, and translates that research for policy makers, healthcare communities, and the public.
AFWI logo
In Mexico, Aceleradora de InnovaciĆ³n para la Primera Infancia, one of the Latin American Innovation Clusters, is anchored in Monterrey at the Universidad Regiomontana, a pioneering institution at the forefront of an extensive urban revitalization effort.
U-ERRE logo
Grand Challenges Canada logo
Saving brains initiative tries to find ways to seeks to enhance outcomes for children living in poverty through interventions that nurture and protect early brain development before the child turns three years old. 
Good information this week!

Saturday, June 3, 2017

Sharing Resources


The Global Fund for Children reached out to me this week. They sent some information regarding some of the children who had benefited from their services. They were also asking for donations to help with the keep the dream alive for so many children. I was happy to help. One does not realize how much a little bit can help. A little goes a long way.

The Global Fund for Children invests in local organizations that work tirelessly to give all children the opportunity to grow up healthy and safe, get an education, and pursue their dreams. GFC provides our partners with strategic support to help them grow bigger, get stronger, and reach even more children in need. Here are a few simple ways for you to learn more about our work: 

SUCCESS STORIES

How a Livelihood Program Changed a Rural Girl’s Life

Jerish poses with some of her earnings. With her is Comfort Yikiru, coordinator of community health for RICE-WN.
Although the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) is no longer active in northern Uganda, the group’s violent actions have left a terrible legacy. GFC grassroots partner RICE-WN specifically addresses the needs of conflict-affected young people, especially girls.

Finding Hope at a Summer Camp Behind Bars

Alisha and her father at Camp Hope.
In some ways, Hope House’s summer camp looks like any other. But there is one big difference: for five hours each day, Hope House campers go to prison.

With Eyes on the Sky, a Maasai Girl Follows her Dream

angeline after
Angeline has her sights set on the sky: she wants to be a pilot when she grows up. When asked where she’d fly to, she says, “I want to fly to America to go to university there.” Unfortunately, for many girls like Angeline, obstacles stand in the way of big dreams.

Saving for a Brighter Future

AUGE 1
Thanks to GFC grantee Desarrollo Autogestionario AsociaciĆ³n Civil (AUGE), children in Veracruz are literally saving their futures.


Saturday, May 27, 2017

Getting to Know International Contacts

UNICEF NIGERIA


Solar refrigerators were donated by UNICEF so that children can receive vaccinations (Kaalu, 2017). I did not realize that something as a normal refrigerator could be influential in boosting immunization rates. It makes total sense that the vaccines must be maintained at a certain temperature. Prior to UNICEF donating the solar powered refrigerators, vaccines were kept on ice-lined refrigerators.
UNICEF Nigeria/2017/Kaalu
UNICEF Nigeria/2017/Kaalu

NIGERIAN CHILDREN’S DAY


I was surprised to learn about the Nigerian Children’s Day. Nigerian Children’s Day is a day UNICEF calls for an end to violence against children and adoption of Child Rights Acts in all states (Abuja, 2017). Millions of Nigerian children experience some type of physical, emotional or sexual violence. By the time a child turns 18, they have experienced some form of abuse (National Population Commission, 2014). Child Rights Act in 2003 was implemented by Nigeria to control the international Convention on the Rights of the Child (Abuja, 2017). So far, State-wide Child Rights Acts have been passed in 24 of the Nigeria’s 36 states.
UNICEF Nigeria/2017

Water Sanitation

 UNICEF/UN038615/Naftalin


Water sanitation in Nigeria. Children who wanted a simple drink of water had to run all the way home. Because they had to go home to get a quick drink, many of the children would not come back to school. UNICEF provided the funds so that children could have access to clean drinking water (Kaalu, 2017). What a concept; clean drinking water. Many of the children in Flint, MI are living without clean drinking water. Children attending school increased by 30% since adding the clean water pump (Kaalu, 2017).

Abuja. (2017). National children’s day. UNICEF Nigeria. Retrieved from

Kaalu. (2017). Solar refrigerators boost access to vaccines in Gombe Health Clinics, Northeast Nigeria.


Kaalu, S. (2017). Provision of water by the EU helps more children to learn at a school in northern


Saturday, May 20, 2017

Sharing Resources



The Global Fund for Children


Last week I signed up to receive emails on the progress of children who are benefiting from their services. The Global Fund for Children invests in local organizations that work tirelessly to give all children the opportunity to grow up healthy and safe, get an education, and pursue their dreams. GFC provides their partners with strategic support to help them grow bigger, get stronger, and reach even more children in need.

MUMBAI, INDIA – Education in India

They live in slums, on train platforms, and on the streets. They work on fishing docks and in marketplaces and as domestic servants. They are migrants, moving with their families between villages and the city. These are Mumbai’s uncounted and undocumented children, and they are everywhere—except in school. Door Step School is trying to change that. The organization finds vulnerable children and engages them in learning wherever they may be—often on the streets and in the slums where they live, work, and play (GFC, 2011).

Door Step’s innovative and successful projects have had a measurable impact in Mumbai. Door Step reports an overall increase in the number of school-going children in the area it serves. Like Jyoti’s parents, more families are making their child’s education a priority (GFC, 2011).

This is only one of the organizations around the world the GFC supports. Door Step School received the Sustainability Award in 2009, which it used to establish a low-risk reserve fund, contributing to the organization’s long-term viability.

These are the types of successes that challenge me to want to do more.

 Global Children’s Fund (2011). Education comes knocking in India. Retrieved from