Sharing Web Resources

We always here that the preschool years of a child life is the most critical and we usually have preschools that educate children birth through five, but I took much interest in The Baby College which is a program from the Harlem Kids Zone website. This program ensures that from the time children are born they are immersed in a healthy and supportive environment so that they are able to thrive and are capable of being set on the path to school and college readiness which I see as building a very strong foundation.

There are workshops given to not only the parents with infants but also to expectant mothers to help prepare and guide them into raising happy and healthy babies which include workshops and at home visits for 9 weeks where parents gain the knowledge of things such as child behavior, safety, communication, intellectual stimulation, linguistic and brain development, and health, and nutrition. The classes are all offered in English, French, and Spanish. This made me think that some parents may be interested in workshops and gaining knowledge pertaining to raising kids but they may not have transportation in doing so. It is awesome that this program makes home visits for parents who may be experiencing this conflict.

This program also helps parents to learn how to build strong interactions with their children, create a literacy-rich environment, and foster early language skills. This is especially beneficial for young teenage parents. Politicians are supporting the early childhood field and recognizing how important early learning is for each individual child. In January of this year Obama spoke on the 5 promise zones. He believes in changing the odds for every American child to have a chance to succeed in the economy no matter whom they are or where they are from. His plan is to create a better bargain for the middle-class by partnering with local communities and businesses to create jobs, increase economic security, expand educational opportunities, increase access to quality, affordable housing and improve public safety. 

Just this week alone has made me think about all the different aspects that people may have when it comes to the issues of childcare and education. Many of decisions that are being made about childcare or the education of children have big effects on their future being either negative or positive.

Reference

Harlem Children's Zone http://www.hcz.org/

Getting to Know Your International Contacts

Childhood Poverty

Unfortunately, I have not yet received any responses and most of my emails came back as failure to delivery and using the Childhood Poverty Research Policy Centre’s page as an alternative was not a success either being that the website would come up as not available. Luckily I was a able to find an interesting article on childhood poverty Senegal.

            First, the author compares the definition of poverty between the United Nations and Dakar, Senegal. In the article he states that in the United Nations poverty is defined as a denial of choices and opportunities or as being a violation of human dignity. On the other hand in Dakar it is defined as the lack of basic needs and not being able to participate in society such as not having enough to feed and clothe a family, no access to schools or health clinics, and not having enough land to grow food or a job for a living, or having no access to credit. In return this leads to susceptibility to violence, having to live in marginal and fragile environments, and also having no access to clean water or sanitation.  (Otoo 2012).

            Secondly, poverty in Senegal sometimes forces children to be separated from their families. They have to sometimes be supported by their extended family but  children being mostly girls are failed by this support and usually become victims to sexual and physical abuse by family member, guardians, or institutions that they rely on to take care of them. As a result, these children tend to run away to escape these horrors but end up on the streets and them become vulnerable to alcohol, drugs, crime, or sexual and physical violence. (Otoo 2012).

Thirdly, many of the poor children are not able to get an education because they are forced to take care of themselves or have to help their households and work for extra income. Others become victims to forms of exploitation such as child trafficking. Children turn to stealing and street begging because they sometimes become orphans and head of the household. Others just have to do what they can to survive on the streets. This cycle of poverty then continues on to the next generation. (Otoo 2012).

In conclusion, The Global Fund for Children is supporting programs in Senegal that work with families, communities, government agencies, and the children themselves in order to fight against children having to beg and to destroy the root causes. (Otoo 2012). In my opinion, I think that poverty is defined based on where you live. In America, poverty does lead to violence, bullying, children dropping out of school, and it creates a cycle but you rarely hear about children actually being exposed to child trafficking for extra money or having to survive on the streets the best they can. This story has really touched my heart because it goes out to those children that have to suffer from this on a daily basis.

Reference

Otoo, E. (2012, May 31). Caring for street children means tackling poverty at its roots. Retrived from https://www.globalfundforchildren.org/caring-for-street-children-means-tackling-poverty-at-its-roots/

Sharing Web Resources

Harlem Children's Zone
http://www.hcz.org/
(Newsletter: https://donate.hcz.org/signup )

The main focus of Harlem Children’s Zone is to give every child a chance at success in spite of their economical or cultural background. Its main goal is to break the cycle of generational poverty by giving each child individualized help in getting them to and through college in order to become a self-productive adult starting from early childhood.

I took great interest in this because not all organizations help children from the start. Most organizations usually reach out to troubled children but this organization realizes how important it is to promote success by building a successful foundation and guiding children starting at birth. Not only does this organization reach out to children but also to their families. Harlem Children’s Zone has different community centers to provide children and parents with opportunities to promote higher education and giving them a safe place to learn and grow.

Another program that I really admire is the Preventive Program. There are a total of 4 operated sites that are committed to helping families that have experienced crisis and help them to become more strengthened and stable to prevent foster-care placement. The staff also assists families of acute needs such as housing, clothing, or after school programs for their children. I have not yet received a recent newsletter from this site but the site alone is very resourceful.

Getting Ready—Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

Establishing Professional Contacts

In order to contact two professionals, I used the Global Alliance of NAEYC and UNICEF websites as a guide. The first two that I found were Kingston, Jamaica and Hong Kong, China. Both of the emails that I sent to them failed. In addition, I also emailed the Philippines, Albania, and Belarus. I am currently waiting for a response but I will not be so dependent on just these three, throughout the week I will be emailing them again and also more contacts until I get a response.

Expanding Resources

I have decided to further explore Harlem Children’s Zone. The reason I chose this website because it gives information about children ages 0-5, school-aged, and includes families and community. I hope that this website helps to me to learn more about the early years, the impacts of the early years to later school-aged, and also more of how to relate to and involve the families by exploring their website and also subscribing to their newsletter.