Empowering the Village to Raise the Child:

As discussed in our last post, ICRI Nepal– like all of ICRI’s offices around the world–has a comprehensive approach to child advocacy.  We believe that children don’t exist in isolation.  We work to help the whole child—and that means supporting the child’s family, the child’s school, and the child’s community, however we can.  This is why our programs encompass HIV/AIDS prevention, community economic development, maternal/child health, and a range of other subjects.  It’s all part of our effort to empower the village to raise the child.

At the same time, early childhood education is at the heart of ICRI’s international programs, and ICRI Nepal is no exception.  I want to feature just a few more of the early childhood classrooms that have been impacted by ICRI Nepal’s National Center for Learning Resources.

ICRI Nepal has been working with the Pragati School since 2005.  The school serves a very large number of children from mixed caste/mixed income backgrounds.  However, like many schools in Nepal, there is simply not enough space to accommodate all of the children easily.

Since the school staff was eager to add an early childhood classroom, ICRI Nepal brought in several volunteers to renovate and paint an unused room off the school’s courtyard.  The classroom was soon filled with children, and the teachers, staff, and parents were very proud of the new addition to their school community.

At the same time, there were serious structural problems with the early childhood space, including a lack of windows, which caused problems with light and ventilation.  ICRI Nepal worked hard to engage the school community in a series of meetings and visioning workshops, so that everyone could have input into a strategic plan for improving the early childhood classroom and the school as a whole.

(old early childhood classroom)

And what was the result?  The teachers volunteered to give up their office space, two rooms adjacent to the main courtyard.  The rooms were small, but lined with windows and full of light.  Although the teachers had enjoyed this space for many years, they decided that it was more important to utilize it as a learning environment for young children.

The entire school community pitched in to craft the new early childhood rooms.  ICRI Nepal commissioned and designed new furniture and materials for the space.  Teachers from the school began attending National Center for Learning Resources trainings.  And ICRI Nepal staff worked side by side in the classrooms with the teachers, parents, and the very supportive school administration.

What’s resulted is a beautiful early childhood learning environment.  The children are engaged.  The teachers are caring.  The principal is supportive.  The parents are delighted.  And working together as a team, they’ve achieved something remarkable.

Another early childhood center that has seen a total transformation after working with ICRI Nepal is the Balmandir Thecho ECD Center.  The Centre is run by the National Children’s Organization, Balmandir.  Most of the children’s parents are day laborers, and as such there is high turnover and a high level of poverty amongst the student population.

When ICRI Nepal was first invited to work at this school, children as young as 2 years old were sitting behind desks all day, working out of textbooks.  It took many months of meetings, tranings, and conversations to convince the administration to allow the children to have greater freedom of movement.  In the end a compromise was reached—low round tables in the 2 to 3 year old room and colorful, stackable, movable tables and chairs in the 3 to 4 year old room.  Staff and parents are very proud of the new tables and chairs, which can be easily moved aside to allow the children to roam the small classrooms freely.

Although the Centre has little to no resources for materials, the teachers are very dedicated and have worked with ICRI Nepal staff to create activity centers full of found objects and locally-made materials.  The teachers have also transformed the curriculum based on what they’ve learned at the National Center for Learning Resources trainings hosted by ICRI Nepal.

On the day I visited the school, the youngest children was enthralled with a pile of homemade blocks that had been painted with Nepali and English characters.  The older children were ecstatically singing songs written by their teacher while they drew pictures on bits of recycled paper and cardboard.

I was invited to sit in a circle with the children to play a “special Nepali game” called Luka Mari.  Everyone closed their eyes, waiting for the “tapper” to choose them—and when they did, chased that person back around the circle to their empty spot.  It took me a few rounds to catch on, but I soon realized that this was the same game of Duck, Duck Goose I’d enjoyed in my own classrooms as a child!