Sunday, September 29, 2013

Sharing Web Resources 2


Connecting with different countries and different programs has really helped me in understanding different ways people view early childhood and the similarities that they all share. I really find the e-newsletter Early Childhood News very informing. It touches on different issues and concerns across the board. It provides resources for teachers and parents. Another resource is the Head Start program. It allows me to view different cultures and families throughout the world. The NAEYC is also an important resource that I have become very familiar with as I continue my studies in Early Childhood. Every resource is very useful and important. Other than reading articles, I like connecting with other professionals throughout the world. Speaking to people and hearing their advice, testimonies, concerns, etc. is one of the most reliable and valuable resources. Every resource has really helped and provided information to guide me through my course and career.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Getting To Know Your International Connections


With much joy, I was able to get in contact with a relative that has been studying in Africa for the past 2 years. I asked her several questions about the poverty in Africa. She is located in South Africa in city called Cape Town.

Me: How is poverty in Cape Town?

Relative: When I first landed in Africa the airport was beautiful but when you got on the road it was a township in the center of all this beauty and modernization of South Africa. The poverty is right in the middle of progress which is very shocking. There are three major townships; Langa (which means “Sun”), Nyanga (which means “Moon”), and Gugulethu (which means “Our Treasure”).  Townships are homes that all of the poor Africans live in. Townships are homes that are built out of tin majority have no electricity or water. When visiting these townships you should have an escort because there are no street signs, so you need to be accompanied by someone who knows their way around.

Me: How does this affect the children?

Relative: There is no playground or grass for the kids to play safely. The kids do not have a place to study and they live in a place of filth and they are prone to more diseases. Even though the kids are poor and they do not have much at all, they seem really happy playing with their stick and rocks. : Children ages 0-4 years top 20 reasons of death is because of HIV/AIDS. In 2007 60% of children were dying because they were underweight for their age and 50% was because they were in stages 3 and 4 of HIV.

Me: Are there any improvements?

Relative: The Government built an Apartment Building. These buildings are very old and rundown but it is a step up from the shacks. However, they are still located in the townships. In one apartment there are three rooms with three beds in each room. It is not setup where one bed is for one person, one bed is for one entire family. Some of the apartments are still without electricity and running water.

Me: How are the schools?

Relative: The schools are only three mini buildings. The school that I visited was a secondary school with only three rooms for fifth, sixth, and seventh grade. There are not enough desks, the books are few and outdated; there are no windows and nothing to protect them from the rain and winter. There is no cafeteria, no playground, and no gym. There are a lot of students because they are eager to learn. Parents are expected to pay for their child to go to school, which is hard for many because they are ill and have AIDS and other diseases.

Me:  How do you fix poverty?

Relative: Fix the family structure. There needs to be health care coming to the family regardless of their current health situation. There needs to be education provided for these parents and job placement programs. A lot of children drop out of school after secondary because they need to help support the family or raise their younger siblings because their parents have died from either curable diseases or they cannot get access to HIV care.

South Africa has nine provinces (communities) for a total population of 47 million people. Of those 47 million 86% are African, 9% are Colored, 9% are White. All of the resources and funds are going to the two 9% populations. So the question is, how are you supposed to bring them out of poverty when most of the funds and resources are going to the minority and not the majority. If the cycle is not broken then poverty will never improve.

 From this conversation I was able to get a better understanding of the poverty level in Africa. I realized that the people that are well off are never going to struggle but the ones that are struggling will continue to struggle with minimum assistance. The children seem happy with what they play with but what happens when their parents die. They are left to become orphans and drop out of school.


Picture of the Township homes

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Sharing Web Resources


The topic I choose was the post-quake in Haiti and how the kids are coping with the change since 2010. The earthquake killed thousands of people and destroyed hundreds of homes and also tore apart families. There are a lot of children in foster care because they lost their parents and other family members, therefore the orphan rate doubled since then. There are many organizations that are supporting Haiti. Here is the mission statement for one of them called, New Life Community Project of Thomazeau, Haiti, Inc. The Day Care Program mission will provide early childhood education and intervention services for preschool age children who have been unable to attend school due to health issues, transportation and financial difficulties.  A significant number of children do not receive the educational benefits of preschool.  This program will be designed to serve two hundred children from ages two and a half to five years old (newlifeofthomazeau.org).


The UNICEF is also an organization that is providing support and materials for the children in Haiti. The UNICEF provides the children with early childhood development kits that includes dominos, coloring pencils, construction blocks, hand puppets, puzzle pieces, and memory game just to name a few. They realize how important it is to educate children under the age of five and the difference it will make when they enter school. The UNICEF is also training the teachers who will spread their skills to other teachers on how to monitor pupils on a daily basis and evaluating individual children’s well-being (unicef.org). The ECD programme also includes education for parents on non-classroom aspects of child development. Parents learn proper nutrition and sanitation to protect children from waterborne diseases, and what they can do at home to help their children prepare for school (unicef.org) This is very important it allows the parents to be a part of their child’s education and how to help them at home and how to be health conscious and safe. This website was very helpful and I want to continue my research on the children in Haiti and how they have learned to deal with trauma and poverty.


                                   

These additional resources are very informative about the young children in Haiti and their programs. There are a lot more that I will be adding as I continue my research.
www.unicef.org
www.newlifeofthomazeau.org
www.jrs.net


Saturday, September 7, 2013

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources


For part one of the blog assignment, I left several messages and sent emails to different groups and organizations around the world. I have not received a response yet but I know I will. I was able to sign up and contact professionals in Global Fund for Children. I also have a personal contact in Africa but she has yet to respond to my email. I will continue to reach out to more people until I receive a response.

For part two of the blog assignment I expanded my resources by researching and exploring Harlem Children’s Zone (http://www.hcz.org)  and Pre-k Now (http://www.pewstates.org/projects/pre-k-now28067).  There were a lot of websites that interest me so I am sure that I will expand my research even further. Even though I have not got in contact with other people I am very confident I will and look forward to the information I will gain when I do.