For this blog assignment I chose to review the UNESCO website, http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/. This organization strives to improve education around the world maintaining the belief that education is a key to social and economic development. UNESCO leads international policy for a integrated early childhood system focusing holistically on the needs of children by efforts of reviewing and developing national policies affecting children through 8 yrs. I viewed a video that discusses a program in northern Kenya called Early Childhood Programme for The Nomadic Loipi of Northern Kenya. There are 85 community Loipi projects have serviced 27,000 children and families (UNESCO). This is project concentrates on a group of pasrtoralist and nomadic people and preparing their children for school. The participants must feel protected and welcomed in the program. The traditional cultural values are preserved while preparing children and families for interaction with the modern world. The parents, caregivers, and some trained teachers provide the structure of the program. The children learn how to play together by working on social skills. They learn about their culture through the elders in their community. The tradition in the Loipi culture focuses on story telling, riddles, and mythology as a teaching method. The centers provide an environment where parents are included and can watch their children learn and develop. Also advisers at the centers may teach parents about the importance of hygiene and clean water. The program emphasizes nutritional value making sure children are receiving a healthy balanced meal that all children need . Health services also come to the centers to vaccinate the children and parents are informed of importance of medical care. An important part of this program is a partnership with communities and families along with the Kenyan Government. Some key factors of this program such as partnership with parents and community, recognition of cultural tradition, and the emphasis of health and nutrition are paralleled in children's programs in the modern world. By focusing on a holistic approach to early childhood education and care will improve the lives of all children exposed no matter what their background or geographic location. However there still remains a struggle globally to reaching young children in making education available and accessible. What I found surprising when exploring the website were the statistics linked to vulnerable and marginalized groups, and exclusion from education. 75 million globally children do not receive an education. 7 of 10 children live in Subsaharan Africa or South and West Asia (UNESCO). The reasons behind the problem of exclusion are poverty, gender inequality, disability, child labor, speaking a minority language, belonging to indigenous group of people, or living a nomadic or rural life style(UNESCO). I appreciate programs such as Loipi which are reaching those who would not otherwise have the educational experiences offered in their communities. My personal goal is to open a early education learning center in my local community. I would like to help establish better circumstances for those less fortunate, fostering inclusion and opportunities that account for differences of back grounds, and cultures.
