For this weeks blog I decided to listen to the audio podcast of Delfina Mitchell. Mrs. Mitchell is the Director of the Liberty Children's home located on the outskirts of Belize City. This programs has been open since 2005 and is for children between birth and 5 years old. The children at this care center have been abandoned, abused, or orphaned. Many have disabilities, special need or are HIV positive. The focus of the Liberty Children's home and Liberty Foundation is to provide care and education to those children in need. They strive to provide high quality services of the children in Belize. They provide children with much more than just shelter and food, they provide them with an environment where children are respected, nurtured and treated as individuals. By helping children regain their self-esteem, the Liberty Children's home help children develop trust in adults and to form healthy relationships.
In the podcast Delfina Mitchell talks about a 9 year old boy named Joseph that has recently joined the Liberty Children's home. Joseph was living in a bad situation in which he was abused and had witnessed his sister being abused and because of that he had shut down and did not speak for over a year. When he arrived at the children's home he was accompanied by his 6 brothers and sisters. Joseph was home schooled on the children's home grounds but eventually he was enrolled in school in another part of town. He struggle in school and after one week he was kicked out of school and sent home because he had a problem understanding. Mrs. Mitchell tells a story about when her and Joseph went horse back riding and he began to tell her about the abuse and neglect that he had encountered. For Mrs. Mitchell, some of it was hard to understand because it seemed as if he had regressed in his age and she had difficult understanding some of his words. Though he talked that day while riding horse, Joseph began not speaking again. As time passed he began to speak a little each week that had passed. The staff at Liberty Children's home began to provide Joseph a few hours a day of schooling and allowed him time in the garden because he enjoyed being outside. With the combination of slowly introducing him to the school environment and providing him medication, Joseph began to open up more and more. The kids would stop to listen to him when he spoke because they were shocked that he was talking. When Joseph spoke everybody wanted to listen.
The work that the Liberty Children's home does helps provide children with a safe haven. An environment where they can regain their childhood and innocents. It helps them heal from the traumatic situations in which they come from. It helps build their confidence in themselves and in others.
UNESCO's Early Childhood Care and Education
For the second part of my blog assignment, I explored the UNESCO's Early Childhood Care and Education website. This organization works to improve education around the world believing that it is key in social and economic development. "The Organization aims to help build a sustainable world with just societies that value knowledge, promote peace, celebrate diversity and defend human rights, achieved by providing Education for All."
I found it great that when it comes to access and equality that countries have committed to expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education especially for children who are vulnerable and disadvantaged. Governments in the United Nations are being urged to expand equitable access to quality early childhood services focusing on the importance of creating policies that favor the poor. The UNESCO also promotes high quality childcare for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. By providing these children with high quality services, it promotes motivation, confidence, good cognitive and linguistic development and school readiness.
Resources
http://www.libertyfoundation.org.uk
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/
I think it is so important for ECE professionals in the U.S. to learn as much as possible about the issues children face in other parts of the world. Although there are many areas where we need to improve our services, most American's take for granted that an AIDS orphan in the U.S. will be looked after. In other parts of the world they may be left to dig food out of the garbage and beg for change, or be exploited by others as servants or worse. Thank you for sharing your review of the Liberty Children's Home in Belize.
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