Young Children in Humanitarian and COVID-19 Crises

Front matter

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Young Children in Humanitarian and COVID-19 Crises

Enlightening-this book is a must-read for practitioners, policymakers, and donors. Real-life stories and a simple narrative that converts complex science and practice into compelling reading make this book an all-time reference. Read it to learn, and be better prepared! This book has something for everyone.

Contents

List of illustrations Acknowledgements List of contributors Foreword

Introduction SWETA SHAH AND LUCY BASSETT

Supporting young children affected by crisis SWETA SHAH

Index

Illustrations

Figures

1.1 1.2 3.1 3.2 5.1

6.1 6.2

6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6

6.7 6.8 6.9

11.1

Nurturing Care Framework

Psychosocial intervention pyramid

BRAC service delivery model adaptation process Training cascade model

Health, Early Learning and Protection Parenting Program model

Characters featured in the Jugar para Soñar model

Map of the Jugar para Soñar play spaces, or “magical portals”

Families being interviewed on the migratory route Children expressing their preferences through drawings Young child drawing

Brainstorming about games and activities for the Traveling Backpack

Sketch of the Traveling Backpack

Children and families testing the Traveling Backpack Children and families giving feedback on the Traveling Backpack

Contents of the Traveling Backpack

Traveling Backpack

Route agenda with information for families

Sample page from the route agenda

Pre-COVID-19 location shoots in Rosendal, Free State Province

Pre-COVID-19 location shoots in Johannesburg, Gauteng Province

Psychosocial pyramid showing types of services needed in humanitarian contexts

Organizational structure of LGUs and ECD leaders

20 22 55 58

89 113

113 115 116 116

117 118 119

119 120 120 121 122

199 215 viii List of illustrations

11.2

11.3 11.4

Tables

2.1 4.1 5.1 5.2 5.3 11.1

Boxes

2.1

2.2

2.3

5.1

5.2 Highlight 10.1

Competency framework for effective Early Childhood Development leaders

Overview of the SLEC training program

Methods in the SLEC model

Distance Learning Modality by Use and Access Content of household visit

Research cohorts

Quantitative tools

Mean age of participants

Comparison of baseline (2020) and endline (2022) mean scores in self-reported competencies

Key findings

Key findings

Key findings

Success story: Violence reduction at home

Success story: Father expressing emotions

Successful activity adaptation for remote implementation The four tiers of the psychosocial support model

219 221 222

35 76 94 96 97

37 40 44 99 99 162 203

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the authors for their hard work writing, revising, rethinking, updating, and continually bringing their best knowledge and energy to this project. It was a marathon process and they all wrote their chapters in addition to other full time work responsibilities. Without these amazing teams from around the globe, this book would not exist.

It is also thanks to Joan Lombardi that this book exists. Always a tireless advocate and true supporter, she encouraged us to pursue this idea early in the COVID-19 pandemic, cheered us on throughout the process, and wrote a thoughtful forward, which opens the book beautifully.

Numerous members of the University of Virginia Humanitarian Collaborative were also an essential part of this book. Maya Ewart, a Masters student, helped us conceive of the book, define initial steps and processes, and spearheaded outreach to all our authors. Humanitarian Collaborative Practitioner Fellow, Lissett Babaian, read early versions of most chapters and, with her usual deep and reflective review, posed questions and shared feedback that guided authors to improve and clarify their work. Makana Brooks, Sagarika Shiehn, Kate Driebe, and Megan Finney helped later in the process, conducting research, identifying and updating sources, and copyediting final chapters.

We want to thank our families. Lucy’s partner, Alex, regularly encouraged her to keep writing and editing when she got stuck (usually in a new coffee shop in Mexico City, for inspiration). Her children, Beacon, Ela, and Si enthusiastically kept her company while she reviewed chapters as they did their homework and were excited their mom was going to have “her own real book.” Sweta’s partner, Michael, who has always been her toughest critic and editor, gave great advice and supported her during the writing of the book. Her daughters, Kalpana and Priya, gave their mom time and space to write the book and are excited she will publish her second book.

Additionally, Helena Hurd, Senior Editor at Routledge, was excited and supportive of the idea for this book from the beginning and presented the proposal to the Routledge Editorial board and the Humanitarian Series Editors.

x Acknowledgements

Writing a book is hard enough, but doing it with another person can be challenging as each person brings different perspectives and writing styles. Yet, we both found in each other an incredibly flexible, hardworking, and compatible thought and action partner. We somehow seamlessly wrote and edited chapters and brought this book together. Having such a partner is rare and it has allowed each of us to dream big and realize those dreams!

Contributors

Muna E. Abbas is a Palestinian Jordanian and the current CEO of the Asfari Foundation. She has decades of experience implementing Early Childhood Development programs in Jordan and the Middle East with organizations such as Save the Children and Plan International.

Belynda Agu is Finance, Monitoring, and Evaluation Officer at Sesame Square (based in Abuja, Nigeria).

Jahanara Ahmad is with BRAC Institute of Educational Development (BRAC IED), BRAC University and has many years of experience with Early Childhood Development. She is based in Bangladesh.

Nasrin Akter is Director of Content and Creative Services at Sesame Workshop Bangladesh, where she leads the team who creates Sisimpur, the most popular children’s show in Bangladesh. She also leads storybook development for early readers and is interested in leveraging digital and social platforms to support children’s learning.

Rehnuma Akhter is Manager, Championing Play Project Manager at Save the Children International. She was formerly Education Program Manager at Sesame Workshop Bangladesh (based in Dhaka, Bangladesh).

Nael H. Alami is an Associate Professor at the Modern University for Business and President of the Center of Excellence in Research, Education, and Cultural Studies. He is a molecular neuroscientist, with research interests that fall at the intersection of neuroscience, global health, and the learning sciences.

Dima M. AlFayez holds a Bachelor’s degree in logistics science. She started as a volunteer and then as a Project officer on ECD and parenting projects at Plan International Jordan.

Asma S. Al Khatib has more than 16 years of experience working in ECD in development and humanitarian contexts in Jordan. She represents Plan International on global ECD networks, including the Moving Minds Alliance and the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies. She is a doctoral student.

xii List of contributors

Sahar Lafi Al-Matarneh is an educational expert in the Middle East. She holds a Master’s degree in Psychology and a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Psychology, as well as a Higher Diploma in Education and a General Diploma in Art Education.

Lara C. Aoudeh is the Programmes Manager at The Arab Resource Collective and the Arab Network for Early Childhood. She has a BA in Early Childhood Education and a Master’s degree in Sociocultural engineering. She is based in Lebanon.

Syful Azam is IRC Bangladesh’s ECD Senior Manager and focuses his work in Cox’s Bazar in support of the Rohingya refugee crisis. He has a Masters of Public Health and a Master of Social Science from Bangladesh.

Grace J. Boutros is the Regional Programmes Coordinator at the Arab Network for Early Childhood (ANECD) and the Arab Resource Collective (ARC). She has a BA in clinical psychology and is an ECD expert (parenting, mental health, Gender-based violence). She is based in Lebanon.

J. Charles Bradley is a PhD student and sociologist of education in the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia. His research, which sits at the intersection of critical refugee studies and institutional sociology, investigates sector strategies and reform efforts in early learning programs for refugees.

Abigail Bucuvalas is Senior Director of Educational Programs in the International Social Impact Department at Sesame Workshop. In this role, she leads processes for curriculum development and program design for multimedia projects in collaboration with research and creative teams, with a geographic focus on Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Carolina Casas is Vice President, Education, International Social Impact at Sesame Workshop (based in Bogota, Colombia).

Estefania Sirlopu Castillo is IRC Colombia’s ECD Manager. She has over eight years of experience in the designing and testing of brands, products and experiences, including supporting vulnerable, migrant communities. She has a degree in Industrial Design from the National University of Colombia (2012).

Rachel Christina is Director of International Basic Education at Education Development Center. She designs, manages, and evaluates innovative global programming for learners, educators, communities, and systems serving children and youth, with a focus on extremely low resource environments in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

April Easter is a Senior Program Officer at Save the Children Philippines. She earned her Master’s degree from the University of the Philippines, where she was also assistant professor. She founded a preschool, headed the Early Childhood Education program of a university, and co-authored the Foundations of ECE course module of a national publication.

List of contributors xiii

Kim Foulds is Vice President of Content Research and Evaluation at Sesame Workshop (New York, United States).

Anika Habib is IRC Bangladesh Technical Manager for the Rohingya humanitarian response, is currently a Master’s student at the University of Victoria focused on Early Childhood Development.

Maria Fernanda Higuera is IRC’s Education Manager in Colombia. She supports the technical development of the education programming ensuring quality and capacity sharing with the education team and external stakeholders. She is licensed in early childhood pedagogy by the Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas.

Ghassan Issa is a Lebanese pediatrician with decades of ECD experience. He is a recognized leader and founded and leads the Arab Network for Early Childhood and Arab Resource Collective. He is the President of the International Developmental Pediatrics Association and taught at the Lebanese Medical University.

Najla A. Lakkis is specialist physician and faculty in Family Medicine at the American University of Beirut. She is currently the President of the Lebanese Society of Family Medicine.

Ahsan Mahmud is IRC Bangladesh’s Education Coordinator. He leads the incountry work on a diverse portfolio of projects including rigorous research, teacher professional development, Education ICT innovation and ECD. He holds a Master’s in Education from the University of Dhaka.

Erum Mariam is Executive Director of BRAC Institute of Educational Development (BRAC IED), BRAC University and a global leader in Early Childhood Development. She is based in Bangladesh.

Sahar Lafi Al-Matarneh is an educational expert. She holds a Master’s degree in Psychology and a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Psychology, as well as a Higher Diploma in Education and a General Diploma in Art Education.

Katie Murphy is IRC’s Director of ECD and Strategic initiatives overseeing large scale initiatives for families with young children living in humanitarian crises. She holds a PhD and a Master of Public Health from the University of Pennsylvania.

Anuragini Nagar is a development professional with expertise in designing and implementing large scale, impact driven programs in India. During her career, Anuragini has worked with several organizations, partnering with communities, institutions, and government agencies, to positively impact the lives of children and their caregivers, adolescents, educators, and farmers.

Ayobisi Osuntusa is CEO and Executive Director of Sesame Square Foundation (based in Abuja, Nigeria).

Mari Payne is Director of Education and Outreach, International Impact at Sesame Workshop South Africa (Johannesburg, South Africa).

xiv List of contributors

Gabriela Peña is IRC’s Education Technical Advisor. She has over ten years of experience in the humanitarian sector. She supports IRC’s country teams in Latin America and during emergencies. She holds a Master of Arts from New York University and the University of Alcala.

Simon Richmond designs technology-based interventions to deliver educational content to underserved populations. He has helped create ICT tools to ensure the fidelity of mental health training, to help teachers improve their teaching and collect actionable feedback on student performance, to teach reading to the deaf, and to train youth entrepreneurs.

Joy Sampang is the Early Childhood Care and Development Advisor of Save the Children Philippines. She is also the co-lead of Save the Children Early Learning Working Group at the global level and a Steering Committee member of Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood. She was an Assistant Professor in the University of the Philippines.

Sukhna Sawhney is Lead of Early Childhood Care and Education at Rocket Learning. She was formerly Senior Manager of Content and Curriculum at Sesame Workshop India (Delhi, India).

Apurba Shikder is Manager of Program and Research at Sesame Workshop Bangladesh (Dhaka, Bangladesh).

Sarah Tabassum is the Strategic Communications Specialist at BRAC Institute of Educational Development (BRAC IED), BRAC University. She lives in Bangladesh.

Julia Tomchinsky is the Education Director for Sesame Workshop in Latin America. Dr. Tomchinsky has extensive experience coordinating social impact projects in education and media, and in developing and implementing early childhood development programs aligned with Brazilian public policy.

Camilo Valenzuela is IRC’s Education Coordinator in Colombia. He leads the work in the country and manages field staff. Camilo is a Sociologist with 13 years of experience in education and child protection project coordination, including in humanitarian contexts.

Katelin Wilton is the ECD Technical Adviser at the International Rescue Committee based in New York. She supports ECD programs globally.

Samera Zaidi is Director of International Research and Evaluation at Sesame Workshop (based in New York, United States).