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Hearts Leap Center

Monday, January 30th, 2012

The following blog post was written by Hanyun Cai, an ICRI intern for 2011-2012. Hanyun grew up in Shanghai, China and studied anthropology and biology in the United States. She is deeply interested in issues of early childhood education and non-profit management. “I am committed to bringing invaluable lessons learned at ICRI back home to benefit more children in the world,” she said. This post describes her recent visit to our Hearts Leap South Center at 2640 College Avenue in Berkeley, CA.

The moment I walked into the Oak Room, I wanted to be a child again. Sixteen three- year-olds formed a circle on the floor. On the giant blue and white dyed table cloth, they were enjoying an indoor picnic, sipping hot chocolate while munching on freshly baked pastries. It was a room full of happy laughter, pleasant aromas, stimulating colors and round-corner wooden furniture, all immersed in warm natural light. Countless developmentally appropriate activities, mostly art-related, take place here, with high parental involvement and full attention from teachers— something uncommon in a preschool elsewhere; but in Hearts Leap Preschool, this is every day.

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Picture 1. Picnic in the Oak Room.

Located in the historic Julia Morgan Centerfor the Arts, Hearts Leap is one of the six child care and early childhood development centers operated by International Child Resource Institute (ICRI) in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2001, ICRI was asked to take over the operation of this child care center in south Berkeley, and Hearts Leap has since been recognized both locally and internationally as a model early childhood program. Staffed with twelve talented and dedicated teachers, Hearts Leap not only demonstrates the best possible preschool but also experiments with new ways of teaching according to most recent pedagogical research. It always receives high demand for slots from local parents. Educators from around the world come here for study and learning exchange opportunities.

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Picture 2. Small Group Time for Reflection and Community.

When asked what makes Hearts Leap different, Ellie Mashhour, the Child Care Operations Manager at ICRI, said: “We look at each individual child, see where the child is, what the child needs, and how we as adults can really push him/her to that direction which he/she desires most.”

Hearts Leap utilizes a discovery-based emergent curriculum. The central philosophy of an emergent curriculum is that everything is emergent in nature and the planning of curriculum should reflect both children’s and teachers’ interests and passions. It is a dynamic process that focuses on the dialogue and cooperation between teachers and children, encouraging creative, experiential, and life-related learning. Inspired by developmental psychologists Piaget and Vygotsky and world-known philosopher John Dewey, the curriculum is drastically different from a predefined curriculum under which children always do the same thing by following a set of concrete instructions together (Yu-le 2004).

Young children learn by imagining and doing. Granted with a lot of independence, children are soaked in an interactive learning environment with experienced staff on a day to day basis. A range of activities, including music and movement, yoga and gymnastics, take place here every day. Teachers not only use language, but also gestures, facial expressions, drawings, music to communicate with children. Ellie said, “We are not babysitting children. We are not just looking after them so they are safe. We are teachers, here to assist and guide them.” The classroom is a highly engaging and inspirational space.

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Picture 3. Diverse Constructions Make An Outdoor Play Area Fun–Always Something to Explore.

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Picture 4. The Classroom Provides Children with A Plentitude of Opportunities to Express Themselves by Doing Art.

The classroom setting is an “unspoken teacher” in emergent curriculum. Hearts Leap constructs explorative and developing classrooms where teachers, students, and teaching materials interact in the context of dialogue. Designed with exquisite details, Hearts Leap is a safe, homey and dreamy place that contains areas devoted to art expression, music, pretend play, science, reading, sports, etc. Children’s social and emotional skills, language skills, thinking skills, and ability to imagine and to create are encouraged to grow together in such an environment.

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Picture 5. Reading Corner Designed for Children to Develop Their Literacy Skills.

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Picture 6. Pretend Play Area—“Doctor” and “Patient.”

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Picture 7. Music/movement Area.

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Picture 8. Block Play Area.

Under an emergent curriculum, Hearts Leap seeks to promote the full realization of a child’s whole life—every child is considered a distinct individual. The staff aims to correspond to the need of the child all-round development. Everyone’s uniqueness is highly appreciated here. For instance, the rooms are filled with pictures, completed projects, and detailed information of each child. Hearts Leap also maintains a library of “Love Letters” in which if a teacher has any contact with a child, he/she writes couple of sentences about the day and the activity. In addition, a portfolio is created and kept since day one at Hearts Leap, including copies of the first picture one draws and another one does six months later.

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Picture 9. Every Child’s Family is Connected via a Map on the Wall.

High parental involvement and community engagement is another feature that makes Hearts Leap stand out. Ellie said: “We maintain close contact with the schools in Berkeley and Oakland—know the kindergarten teachers and first-grade school teachers. Our staffs go and sit down in their classrooms and hear their expectations. We are fully aware what transitions they are looking for in a child.” The administrator also makes great efforts to ensure both school and home are continuous learning spaces for students. Parents are encouraged to take active roles in organizing community events and playing with children, and maintaining constant contact with teachers.

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Picture 10. Parental Involvement is Essential Piece of Hearts Leap’s High Quality Childcare.

Beyond its local operation, Hearts Leap engages in international efforts to impact more children’s lives. In 2005, Ellie was invited to talk about early childhood development curriculum inSharonChildcareCenterin a small village nearNairobi,Kenyafor the first time. However when she arrived, she realized there was something that deserved more attention,

“It was hard for me to work with the staff when I was seeing the hungry children; many of them were with one teacher. I wanted to talk to the teachers about health and safety but there was even no water for me to show them how to wash their hands. So my focus immediately went to the basic needs to provide children with water and food.”

After the trip, Ellie shared her story with the families at Hearts Leap and organized several fundraising events. The preschool had a cooking project in which the children baked and sold the cookies to parents. It raised $750 dollars and bought water bottles, which were later painted by the children and sent to children inKenya. “Last year, we also funded a trip for the children inSharonCenterto visit the city as a gift for their graduation. Now we have hired a local nurse to visitSharononce a month,” said Ellie.

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Picture 11. Message Board at Hearts Leap with Pictures Sent from Kenya.

Her dream is to find a permanent site for the sixty children at Sharon Center, “Right now they are at the church so they are not able to participate in schooling every day if there is a wedding or funeral. I will continue to work with the teachers to find a better place. The challenge is cultural issues that are not being paid attention, to get to know them.”

In close relationship with ICRI Africa, Hearts Leap has extended its experience of building access to high quality and developmentally-appropriate early childhood education forAfrica’s poorest children. By imaging and creating a child-caring community beyond boundaries, Hearts Leap manifests the possibilities of what a child care center today can be—a promising and enlightening picture it is painting for all children.

 

Reference: Yu-le, Z. (2004). Some thoughts on emergent curriculum. Paper presented at the Forum for Integrated Education and Educational Reform sponsored by the Council for Global Integrated Education,Santa Cruz,CA, October 28-30.

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The Story of Project Commotion

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

Chagua teaches a movement class at Project Commotion

 

Susan Osterhoff and Chagua Camacho-Olguín were doing what they loved to do—teaching movement classes to children. Both students of capoeira, a Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, sports, and music, they shared a deep appreciation for the role of physical movement in the development of children.

Over time, they began to notice a pattern at the center where they taught—there were several kids who were deemed trouble makers, and Chagua became the go-to person for “dealing” with those students. They soon discovered that most of those children were on the Autism spectrum, but their parents were not forthcoming about this information because they wanted their children to be integrated into their classes.

“Chagua was just really, really good at working with kids who were having issues,” said Susan. She remembers one child in particular, with whom none of the other instructors were able to build a relationship. “But when Chagua met him for the first time, there was an instant connection. It was so intense.”

Susan and Chagua were fascinated by child development, and they enrolled at the City College of San Francisco to learn more about this field. They focused on sensory integration, which looks at the way we experience the world through our senses and develop our vestibular system. The more they learned about the effects environmental factors such as sound and light have on sensory responses, the more convinced they became that the existing programs with which they were familiar were overstimulating children.

“We knew if we had our own space, we would be able to create a program that would meet our philosophy,” Susan shared. They developed their own vision of the ideal space for children: a space where Susan and Chagua could play and interact with children in a way that supports their growth, development, and their true understanding of themselves. They wanted to provide children with an environment where they could run, jump, spin, roll, hang, and literally bounce off the walls. It was also important to them that they reach underserved children who are in danger of falling through the cracks by being labeled as behaviorally-troubled.

Thus, Project Commotion was born. However, Susan and Chagua needed help to get their vision off the ground.

Enter ICRI. Through a series of references, Susan and Chagua contacted ICRI and began meeting with ICRI staff about program development and fund development. They were delighted when ICRI’s Board of Directors voted to become the fiscal sponsor of Project Commotion.

ICRI has often served as a fiscal sponsor to smaller organizations and projects. In this way we are able to leverage our infrastructure and experience from 30 years of operating programs for children and families to grow emerging initiatives and make an even greater impact. Fiscal sponsorship exemplifies ICRI’s entrepreneurial spirit. We provide our fiscally-sponsored projects with programming advice, administrative support, and fiscal management so they can focus all their efforts on serving children. Fiscally-sponsored organizations also share in our tax-exempt status and fiduciary oversight.

In the case of Project Commotion, ICRI was also able to provide significant start-up funding and cover the initial costs of creating Susan and Chagua’s dream environment for children. Project Commotion has actively fundraised over the past three years to pay off these start-up costs, and has continued to expand its programming to reach more families. We are now working with Susan and Chagua to help Project Commotion grow to the next stage of organizational development and obtain independent legal status as a non-profit.

“Our goal is to become independent, but ICRI has been very supportive and allowed us to have the autonomy to make decisions and have our program be what we envisioned it to be,” said Susan.

Project Commotion is just one of many projects that have been able to provide needed services to children and families due to ICRI’s fiscal and program sponsorship. We are proud to have supported Susan and Chagua’s innovative methods for engaging children through movement and sensory integration. The success of Project Commotion is a testament to Susan and Chagua’s vision and perseverance– and to the entrepreneurial approach championed by ICRI.

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Helping Abused and Exploited Children in Chile

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

Helping Abused and Exploited Children in Chile

The daughter of a diplomat, Marianela Soto Hurtado spent her childhood in various countries in Europe, theU.S.,CanadaandChile. Yet, throughout her travels, she longed to stay deeply connected with her Chilean roots. This desire stayed with her even after she completed her M.Ed. in Human Development and Psychology fromHarvardUniversityand began working at the Boston Children’s Hospital, followed by theSouthEndCommunityHealthCenter, also inBoston.

Marianela specialized in school-based counseling and child abuse counseling. During a year of travel, she visitedChile, where she was invited to observe clinical sessions at different centers that worked with children. She was surprised by what she saw—although child abuse clinics existed, it was apparent to her that most counselors were not entirely sure how to handle such cases.

“It was as if when a child said she was abused, they could not hear it,” she remarked. She knew this was an opportunity for her to make a difference, so she devised a plan.

The first step was to begin working with the Giaretto Institute ( now Eastfield Ming Quong) in San Jose, CA, the first child sexual abuse center in the U.S. Marianela was eager to hone her knowledge and experience, and to take it back to Chile, but one crucial question remained unanswered—how would she sustain herself?

It was during her stint at Giaretto that someone at a private school she was visiting mentioned ICRI. Curious about this organization that was involved in children’s welfare around the world, Marianela made a trip to our Berkeley HQ office. She found her answer.

“What impressed me was the very dedicated focus on children, and very young children,” she says about ICRI.

Although she had contacted various larger organizations with a similar focus, at ICRI she found the perfect balance of support and autonomy that she was seeking.

“Here, you can create a project based on what you see is needed. At large or well known organizations, your supervisors decide that these are the programs they want to do, and you are an employee or a consultant for the ideas that they have,” she explains about her search. “ICRI requires you to be very responsible about what you know and don’t know, and can and can’t do, but it also allows you to be creative.”

After securing a formal partnership with ICRI in 2000, Marianela started looking for funding. From 2002 to 2006, she spent half the year inChiletraining professionals and childcare workers at centers run by Servicio Nacional de Menores (SENAME), a children’s rights government organization. She wrote proposals, obtained grants, and improved her curriculum for the rest of the year. By 2006, she had presented her well-received training at 54 child abuse treatment centers, 62 assessment centers, and 117 children’s group homes. She was able to impact thousands of children through the 850 workers she empowered. In addition, she taught at various universities, and hosted guest lecturers including Dr. Donald Bross, Director of Legal Counsel at theKempeCenterfor the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect. Despite the success of this venture, Marianela headed back to theU.S.in 2008 because grants from foundations were drying up and the program could no longer be funded.

However, Marianela is not one to give up so easily. She is ready to pick up where she left off and is currently raising funds to revive the program. She is hoping to create a permanent branch of ICRI inChile, and consolidate her work there while expanding toPeru,BoliviaandParaguay. She knows her work is critical. According to a recent UNICEF survey, “the key child protection issue is the region of Latin America and theCaribbeanis violence: on the streets, in the juvenile justice systems, in the home, or in the form of sexual abuse and exploitation. By training professionals and child care workers in outpatient and residential centers that see abused children, Marianela wants to help the growing awareness of child abuse and how to prevent and treat it in neighboring countries that are starting to address the issue.

Marianela shakes her head in amusement when she recalls how far she has come in realizing her dream. She recalls writing her first LOI to ICRI, meeting with the board, and not knowing “anything about writing a proposal or how to get funds.”

Now, Marianela has come a long way, and she credits her partnership with ICRI for developing her as a leader and advocate for children.  Marianela is just one of numerous leaders in whom ICRI has invested over its 30 year history.  In our experience, people with a deep personal connection are the ones best suited to identify and address issues facing their home communities.  We are always on the lookout for other Marianelas- social entrepreneurs looking to use their unique talents and passions to make a difference for children and families in need.

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Transformation for Children in Malaysia

Monday, August 15th, 2011

ICRI has been working in Malaysia since 1985, when we were invited to conduct a series of trainings in Kuala Lumpur on child advocacy and child development. This led to the formation of our sister organization, the Malaysian Child Resource Institute (MCRI), in 1988.

ICRI and MCRI facilitated the first National Child Advocacy Forum in 1997, and have continued to be deeply involved in national child and family policy advocacy. Working in tandem with ICRI, MCRI has advised numerous Malaysian government agencies, corporations, and NGOs on child advocacy and child development. MCRI has also conducted extensive training and capacity building for grassroots organizations serving Malaysian children and families.

MCRI has been at the forefront of the improvement and expansion of quality early childhood programs in Malaysia. MCRI assisted in the founding of NACEEM, the national association of early childhood professionals, and provides regular training on global best practices in early childhood care and education through Malaysian universities and NGOs. MCRI has also advised the Malaysian government on early childhood policy and programs.

MCRI also established the first national organization working to prevent child sexual abuse and exploitation, Protect and Save the Children. Originally a project of MCRI, P.S. the Children has since grown into its own freestanding organization. Its vision is to create “a world that upholds the rights and dignity of every child – where every child is protected from sexual abuse and exploitation; a world that neither accepts nor tolerates sexual violence, and where a child can SPEAK UP, be heard and be helped; a culture that excuses nobody from sexual crime and violence, where communities not only have the courage to speak up, but are also committed to reach out.”

The 1997 National Child Advocacy Forum was a true turning point for children in Malaysia. Co-sponsored by MCRI, UNICEF, and the Malaysian National Ministry of Planning, the event was a remarkable collaboration between the public sector and NGO sector. Ken Jaffe, ICRI’s Founder and Executive Director, delivered a keynote address and led a multiday workshop that included several key government ministers and officials working together to draft the country’s first national plan for Children. One participant, Shaharizat Abdul Jalil, was at the time the Minister of Children, Women and Labor for Malaysia. She expressed strong sentiments that Malaysia needed the collaboration of NGOs like ICRI and MCRI partnering with government entities in order to meet the diverse needs of the country’s children.

From 1997 to 2009 a major effort took place to make significant change in the quality, content and capacity of children’s programs in the country. In 2009 ICRI was invited to provide keynote speeches at the first Prime Minister and First Lady’s International Conference on Early Childhood Education. To note the remarkable growth from the 1980s to 2009 was a joy to both Malaysians and those working with them on behalf of children. The First Lady convened this international conference and invited First Ladies and Prime Ministers from about 15 other countries.

The 2009 conference was another watershed for children in Malaysia. Participants were able to see firsthand how 12 years of strategic efforts had allowed Malaysia to make substantial improvements in the lives of children and families. Because of the deep involvement of both the Prime Minister and First Lady, the conference had added import, and its impact was felt beyond the country itself. Other world leaders in attendance were inspired to return home and revive or rethink their own country’s vision for children. The Malaysian media also took an unusually strong interest in the conference and covered the event extensively with daily reporting of the conference events and regular prime time interviews with speakers. Thus the level of awareness of the needs of young children was raised not just with policymakers and NGO leaders, but citizens across the country.

ICRI is incredibly grateful to have been so closely involved in the creation and implementation of Malaysian child and family policies. We remain committed to working in Malaysia in the long term, collaborating with both governmental and non-governmental partners to ensure that this country continues its remarkable commitment to children.

Posted in Children's Rights, Early Childhood Development, ICRI 30th anniversary, Malaysia | No Comments »

Here’s to 30 more years!

Friday, May 27th, 2011

If you know ICRI, you know that one birthday party simply wouldn’t be enough for us!  While the party at the World Forum gave us the chance to celebrate with some of our partners from around the globe, it was just as important to commemorate the occasion back in our home base of Northern California.

 

Over the past 30 years, ICRI has developed or operated programs in over 50 countries around the globe.  Throughout all these exciting initiatives, our incredibly committed headquarters staff have been the bedrock of the organization.

 

ICRI is remarkably blessed to have such a talented, diverse, and loyal team.  While our organization is truly an international one, we have deep roots in every local community where we work—and especially deep roots here in the San Francisco Bay Area.

 

Without this incredible “root system,” ICRI would never have been able to grow in the way it has over the past three decades.  And we would not have been able to serve a fraction of the many children and families who have benefited from ICRI programs.

 

Our second 30th anniversary party was an opportunity to gather together ICRI’s incredible local staff, Board, volunteers, and supporters to celebrate all that we have achieved together in the past 30 years.  It was also an opportunity to pause, reflect, and dream about all that is possible as we all move forward together into ICRI’s next 30 years– and beyond.

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Happy 30th Birthday to ICRI!

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

The celebrations have begun!  We are so proud and excited to be celebrating ICRI’s 30th anniversary.  We have now spent three decades improving the lives of children and families around the world.

At the 2011 World Forum on Early Care and Education in Honolulu, we had the rare and wonderful opportunity to celebrate this important milestone with many of our international staff, partners and friends who have supported the organization over the years.

Speakers included Ken Jaffe and Erin O’Donohue from our headquarters, ICRI Board Chair Stephanie Hill, Janet Mwitiki from ICRI Africa, Mukunda Kshetree and Dhirendra Lamsal from ICRI Nepal, and Rufaro Kangai Sibanda from Child Resource Institute Zimbabwe.

We were also honored by brief remarks from Roger Neugebauer, founder of the World Forum.  Roger spoke about ICRI’s long-term support of the World Forum and the important partnership between our two organizations.

Our guests enjoyed a Hawaiian-style coconut and guava birthday cake with a giant chocolate replica of ICRI’s logo.  The cake was sweet indeed– but even sweeter was the knowledge that our combined efforts over the past 30 years have made a tangible difference to so many children and families in need.

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Las Profesoras

Thursday, April 21st, 2011

In the 1990s, ICRI was invited by the International Center on Aging of the Dominican Republic to assist in the establishment of work related child care programs for the free trade zones of  the Dominican Republic.  We were also invited to work with a large religious organization, Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, on rural projects to save small Dominican villages.

ICRI was invited to work on a new approach to saving these villages by establishing early childhood centers whereby local young parents would be encouraged to stay in their villages to raise their young children instead of moving into greater poverty in the larger Dominican cities.

The SSM group provided funding and a regional development organization known as FUDECO began to organize rural village early childhood centers along the Dominican-Haitian border, one of the poorest areas in the world.  The greatest challenge to the establishment of these village-based early childhood programs was that there were no trained early childhood teachers in these communities.

After much consideration, FUDECO came up with an intriguing plan: since each of the villages had at least one village school with a trained principal and teachers, they decided to offer women who had retired from teaching in these schools a new opportunity.  They offered them free training and secure jobs to replace the minimal retirement income that was keeping these women in poverty in retirement.  The many women in the first twelve villages to be selected for inclusion in this new program were excited at the opportunity to become useful again in their communities as well as to receive a wage that would help them to survive and thrive.  The women began in earnest as directors and head-teachers of programs that were based in cement or dirt-floored, metal-roofed rooms that were found in the plazas of most of these villages.  The directors received initial training from FUDECO and introductory training from local UNICEF representatives.  ICRI was requested to come in to the programs to help the women to reach the next level of quality, function, and support for the children they were serving.

The women rapidly became seen as community leaders and became part of a new local infrastructure of community service to children and families in each of the villages that they served.  In ICRI’s work with the teachers who became known as “Profesoras,” a name of high honor in the Dominican Republic, we were dealing with a remarkably adept, flexible, creative, and powerful group of women between 65 and 85 years old.  The women became the dynamic centers of early childhood programs that were serving children, helping parents, and keeping younger local population in the villages.

At the 85th birthday party of a wiry, white-haired woman with a perennial smile and a look of intensity in her eyes, she was asked how long she would continue to work.  “I think I’ll probably retire in another ten years.  This has been the most amazing five years of my life.”

The program has now grown from 12 villages to 52 villages along the Dominican-Haitian border.  In each village, the Profesoras are leaders, advocates, great supporters and mentors for young children and families.  Most of all, the Profesoras have defied the traditional views of aging and demonstrated the true wisdom, leadership, and vitality that elders can provide in a community.

Posted in Community Economic Development, Dominican Republic, Early Childhood Development, ICRI 30th anniversary | No Comments »

On the Use of Dynamite in the Andes

Thursday, March 24th, 2011

During the 1990s, ICRI was invited by the National Family and Children’s Institute of Ecuador to help develop regulations for a new national law on work-related child care and to assist with modernizing early childhood education programs around the country.  Ken Jaffe, ICRI’s Executive Director, recalls:

We had already met with several different early childhood leaders in various Ecaudorian communities to provide substantive information, training, and support.  Successes included new teacher training techniques, room configurations, and the use of found objects and locally made materials to create improved early childhood environments.   Toward the end of our work, I was pulled aside by two of the Family and Children’s Institute staff to discuss the visit scheduled to take place the following day.  I was told of a fascinating community, high in the Andes off of the Pan-American Highway outside of Quito.  The community, known as Lucha de las Pobres (“Struggle of the Poor”), was comprised of 25,000 ‘squatters’ who had taken over government land in the mountains in order to put down roots away from greater poverty in other locales.

The community, I was told, had health services, child care programs, a school, and other surprising features created by a highly organized community council which reflected the diversity of the community.  As I became excited about assisting the early childhood centers, family child care providers and child health program, I began to see a very serious expression cross the face of Cesar Caceres, my colleague and new friend.  “Ken, there’s one more thing we need to tell you so you can decide whether you want to go to Lucha tomorrow morning.  They use dynamite.”  As I tried to gain a little more clarity regarding the warning, I came to understand that the members of the community were extremely afraid that the government, through its army, would one day try to re-take the land.  It seemed that guards, inconspicuously stationed at the entrance and other key areas in the community, would throw sticks of dynamite under trucks, cars, or at people from the outside.  The next question I asked was the most important one:  “Do they know and trust you?”  When Cesar answered in the affirmative, I said that I would stay very close to them during the entirety of my stay at Lucha de las Pobres.

The first two hours in the community the next morning were understandably tense, and my proximity to Cesar and his colleagues violated all rules of proper distance for normal communication.  After working with a group of dedicated people to explore ways to improve one early childhood center in an old barn where clean hay was strewn across the dirt and rock floor to help protect children from hard falls, we moved onto several other programs.  Throughout my time at Lucha de las Pobres, I was told that the best early childhood educator in all of Lucha was a woman who provided care to 12 small children in her tiny house on the side of a very steep canyon.

After riding, walking and sliding down an approximately 1,000 foot section of rough terrain, I was welcomed by Clemencia, a woman in her 50s, and her 12 year old assistant.  In a small courtyard, eleven children were playing happily, utilizing old pots, pans and bits of wood to create wonderful fantasies.  Clemencia was baking bread in her only cooking area, outside, facing the courtyard.  She invited me into the tiny two-room house where children came in and used her bed as their climbing structure, and played with simple wooden utensils and some local plants.  Clemencia looked at each child lovingly and took me to visit a little girl with physical disabilities who was lying in a woven basket on the side of the smaller room and playing with a wooden block.  She picked the girl up to introduce her to me and stroked her cheek as she said that this child should have the same opportunities as the other children in her care.

I asked her, through an interpreter, how she planned for the children that she talked about so lovingly.  She motioned with her eyes toward a dusty wooden box sitting on a small table near her bed.  When I opened the box I found very old file folders containing, to my surprise, individual development plans for each child in Clemencia’s care.  I saw that she made summary notes each week on their growth and development and measured it against the plan she had made at the beginning of the year.  In this tiny house with a dirt floor, I witnessed the best family child care provider I have known anywhere in the world.  As I thanked her for the remarkable things that she was doing with the children and made clear that I certainly had nothing to add to the wondrous environment and sensitive caregiving she provided, she said something very simple in reply:  “This is only as it should be.”  As I began to clamber up the canyon, I could hear Clemencia singing a local Ecuadorian children’s song and could barely make out the children’s voices in the distance.

Posted in Community Economic Development, Early Childhood Development, Ecuador, ICRI 30th anniversary | No Comments »

Gugu’s Story: Support for Women and Girls

Thursday, March 10th, 2011

Gugulethu Kumalo was born in Zimbabwe in 1989.  Known as “Gugu” by her friends and family, she was a bright and thoughtful child.  Gugu’s early years were stressful ones, however, as she endured the illnesses and eventual death of both her parents to AIDS.  When she was ten years old, Gugu and her brother moved into the home of their aunt and uncle, who eventually took both of the children for HIV tests.  The family was stunned when Gugu tested positive for the virus, while her brother did not.

As Gugu recalled, “I was only 12 years old when they told me.  I didn’t know if I had any future.  I didn’t understand what was happening to me.  I lived in fear and anger.”  Gugu and her family initially kept her HIV status a secret, afraid that they would otherwise be stigmatized or discriminated against in their community.  However, the secret took a toll on Gugu, who remembered feeling “completely alone.”  At school she was teased about the sores on her face resulting from an HIV-related infection, and other students refused to sit next to her.

Gugu became involved with the Champions for Life program, which runs camps for HIV-positive children in Zimbabwe.  Meeting other children and adults with HIV was a transformative experience.  “I realized that I wasn’t alone, and that my life wasn’t over but had just begun.  I realized I had to be strong, not only for me but for other children as well.”  By the time she reached the age of 16, Gugu had become an advocate for women and children with HIV.  She blossomed into a gifted leader and articulate spokesperson.  At the age of 20, she was invited to speak at the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, on the topic of “Transitioning from Adolescence to Adulthood as a Young Person Living with HIV.”

Back at home in Zimbabwe, Gugu was frustrated by the lack of resources that young women with HIV faced.  She wanted to create a space where they could come together on a regular basis to support one another, educate themselves, and plan for their futures.  Gugu approached Rufaro Kangai, the Country Director of ICRI’s office in Harare.  Rufaro, a Zimbabwean who had previously worked in ICRI’s headquarters in California, moved back to Harare in 2007 to open ICRI’s office there.  Rufaro was impressed by Gugu’s commitment and leadership, and realized that there was a critical need for the type of program Gugu had envisioned.  Moreover, she realized that partering with Gugu was very much in “the ICRI way”- being invited to collaborate on a project with a local leader deeply connected to the community to be served.

Gugu soon joined the staff of ICRI’s Zimbabwe office, and with Rufaro developed the Support for Women and Girls Project.  The project offers an array of intensive services to young women, including support groups, individual counseling, educational workshops, tutoring, and vocational training.  Young women were soon flocking to the “safe space” at ICRI’s Harare office, and taking part in popular slumber parties that Rufaro and Gugu hosted to allow the young women “the opportunity to just be with each other and to just be themselves in a fun and supportive environment.”  Although the program has a particular focus on young women who are HIV-positive and young women who have endured sexual assault, both Rufaro and Gugu felt it was important to open the program up to any young woman in need of intensive advocacy and support.  Between 2008 and 2010, the SWAG project provided intensive services to over 80 young women, as well as trainings on the rights and needs of young women to over 400 community members.  The project has been incredibly successful, and due to strong demand has since expanded into other communities where ICRI is working in Zimbabwe.

Gugu died of AIDS-related complications in January 2010.  As Rufaro recalls, “Gugu’s death broke my heart.  She was a hero.  I still can’t believe all that she was able to accomplish in just 21 years.  The only way to heal the pain of losing someone like her is to carry out her vision and help other young women to live out their dreams the way she was able to.”  The Support for Women and Girls project would not exist without Gugu, and each young woman who receives help is directly benefitting from Gugu’s legacy.  As Gugu herself stated, “I realized that I mattered.  And I want others to know that they matter, too.”

Posted in Empowerment of Women and Girls, ICRI 30th anniversary, Maternal/Child Health, Zimbabwe | No Comments »

Thirty Years of ICRI

Friday, February 25th, 2011

2011 is off to an incredible start for ICRI.  We have many exciting new projects around the globe, and we look forward to telling you about them in the weeks and months ahead.

At the same time, this is also a year of deep reflection and celebration for us, as we celebrate our 30th anniversary!

To commemorate this important milestone, and to honor some of the incredible individuals and initiatives that have made ICRI what it is today, we are developing a collection of profiles that we’re tentatively calling “30 Stories from 30 Years of the International Child Resource Institute.”

Each story will focus on a particular person or a particular project that played an important role in ICRI’s 30 year history.  We hope you’ll be entertained and inspired by these stories, and that you’ll learn more about our organization and our unique approach to improving the lives of children and families around the world.

Please keep your eye on this blog and our Facebook page, where we’ll be posting the profiles throughout the year.  And please accept our deepest gratitude for your support of ICRI!

Posted in ICRI 30th anniversary | No Comments »

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