Sharing Web Resources

On the (https://www.globalfundforchildren.org) website I came across a publication regarding education. It makes reference to “no child left behind” it mentioned that that term also applies to children in other countries (mostly female) who may not even have to the opportunity to attend school because they have to work to help provide for their families. This seems relevant to my current professional development because often times we don’t think about these things that are taking place outside of our “world”. What if I had a family who has come from a culture who may not value education for girls because it is not a norm for them. This information will allow me to see things from their perspective and not judge them because their views are different from mines.
I can’t say that any of this information adds to my understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support early childhood without conducting additional information about other countries and their views on early childhood education.

I have learned that in order to gain a better understanding of the current treads and issues in the early childhood field we have to look at the trends and issues worldwide not just in our local communities. We never know when we will come face to face with families that come from cultures different from our own. It would help to stay current and be familiar with things that are taking place around the world.

Poverty Snapshot

Naitil (left) (sitr.org)


This weeks assignment was to get to know our international contact, unfortunatly I have yet to make a connect with anyone yet. The alternative assignment was to gather some information on child poverty in another county. As I was searching the web for an image of child poverty in Haiti. I came across some eye opening information that I have posted below. The direct link to the page is: http://icepoverty.pbworks.com/w/page/11217708/Block%205%20Group%206


Exploring Poverty in Haiti-A Snapshot of the face of poverty
As a single Haitian mother, Hosanna struggles to care for a boy, Naitil, she found living alone on the streets. He wears the same filthy clothes every day. “My skin itches all over,” he says, embarrassed at the bumps covering his skin.

Hosanna knows that the dirt rubs his skin raw, but she doesn’t have the money to purchase detergent, clothing, or shoes. If he doesn’t receive help soon, the dirt will continue to eat away at his skin, causing open sores to develop. This leaves Naitil susceptible to the deadly typhoid fever bacteria common in the local filthy river, his only source for drinking and bathing water.


Extent of Poverty in Haiti
Haiti is the least developed country in Latin America,

To attempt to grasp the severity of Haiti’s situation, consider the fact that four-fifths of its population lives on less than $2 USD per person per day. Furthermore, over half of the Haitian population, or approximately 4.5 million people, are considered extremely poor and live on less than $1 USD per person per day.




After finding this information I did some more research and cam across the worldbank.org website; some things I learned about child poverty in Haiti from this site is:

Children are lucky if they are able to attend school beyond secondary school which I would assume would be mid or high school.

The life expectancy for someone living in Haiti is only 57 years old. This could have a lot to to with the impoverished conditions they are faced with and they fact that only 25% on the children receive vaccinations and the lack of clean drinking water available.

When I tried to find a reason behind the lack of resources and poor living conditions I found that poor governing was to blame along with lack of economic stability. I'm sure that these factors have been taking place for many years and this did not just happen over night. Although I do not live in Haiti I feel some sort of connect because my grandfather and his family migrated from Haiti. People seem to have an idea of what needs to be done but who's going to do it and when is my question.

Sharing resources

The organization I selected was Global fund for children, the main focus of this organization is to help fund grassroots corporations and provide funding to insure that children have the lives they deserve. They work with other organizations to keep children education and away from the harmful lifestyle of sex trafficking, child laborers and other devastating existences. (https://www.globalfundforchildren.org)

One current issue that caught my eye on the website was the relief work they were still during in Haiti 4 years after the earthquake that killed 100,000 to 150, 000 people. The article talked about the different phases of emergency relief and what needs to be done at each phase. Currently Haiti is in the rehab phase, during this time they are “taking stock of the damage and prioritizing infrastructure reconstruction as well as rebuilding roads and utilities”.

Another I would like to share is often times when a country is hit by a natural disaster it is easy to forget things. After the event is no longer being televised and we are no longer connected we tend to forget about what that area is going through to rebuild. During that rebuilding process we also forget about everyday thinks like what’s taking place with children and education. I glad to know there are organizations like this who’s main focus is placed on helping children thrive in conditions that are not set up for them to do so.

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

Our assignment was to reach out to a professionals in the early childhood field in another country, to make connections and talk about trends. Unfortunately I have not heard back from anyone yet but I would love to be able to talk with other people from different countries to gain a better understanding of they way they do things and their outcomes.

I did find a new resource in the process of this assignment. The global fund for children is a program who invests in funding grassroots organizations to help children thrive. Most of their focus is in early intervention, they try to reach the children at an early age in order to make the most impact. If you are interested in learning more about The global fund for children see the link below.

Resources
https://www.globalfundforchildren.org/