Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 1

My conversation partner who I have made contact with and continue to share information is Judy Charoo who is from Jamaica she is an early childhood professional. She has provided me with a website www.eccgov.jm this is the site on Early Childhood commission in Jamaica, this site provides you with information for parents, parenting tips, parental stress, and a list of early childhood providers in the area.

There is also information on the legislation for standards for their early childhood institutions which include:

Standard 1- STAFF

All staff at an early childhood facility has to have training, knowledge, skills and attitude to help children achieve their full potential

Standard 2- PROGRAMS

Early childhood facilities have to have comprehensive programs designed to meet the language, physical, cognitive, creative socio-emotional and school readiness needs of children

Standard 3- BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT

Early childhood professionals need to obtain, training, knowledge, skills and attitude to promote positive behaviors in children

Standard 4- PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

Early childhood institutions have to be physical environments that meet building, health, and safety requirements, and allow adequate space for children

These are few of the standards but in total there are 12 standards. In Jamaica she informed me they have an organization called Food for the Poor Jamaica. This is an organization whose mission is to link churches, civic and other charity organizations  that are in areas of need assisting both the materially poor and poor in spirit. They provide health care items such as beds, wheelchairs, surgical equipment, appliances, pharmaceuticals, and many other items to clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, and infirmaries.

This organization has also started a campaign called the Food for the Poor Jamaica 50 campaign in which they are overseeing the building and upgrading of 50 basic schools in 50 months. They want to play an integral part in helping to create a renewed inspiration, vigor and hope into the mission and infrastructure of the nation’s education system. They feel the educational system should provide each pre-primary child with an opportunity to gain the best possible quality education.

She informed me that she has not encountered any poverty in her professional life.

 My other partner who I have made contact with is from Colombia her name is Laure Toulemonde, she is also an early childhood professional she provided me with information about her country as well.  She informed me that the President of Columbia created a plan to reduce poverty, and although some improvements have been done, there is still too much to do. The government’s aim is to brake the circle of poverty; being born in a poor family does not mean the child will also be poor as an adult.

An additional factor that influences poverty is war. The guerillas are attacking innocent people every day, displacing entire villages from their lands and homes, destroying schools, and many more horrific assaults. As you have probably heard, President Santos is negotiating with them in Cuba, but it is not an easy task. The guerrilla is asking for too many things, no jail and participation in politics (more power) for example, after more than 50 years of dreadful harm to the country. Santos’ position is nothing but simple right now.

In her personal experience, she has been fortunate to be on the upper side of the society, and the professional experience has been more or less among the same social class. But poverty does not escape her eyes. Every day she sees people selling candies on the buses, families begging for money or selling all kinds of products near the traffic lights and disabled and homeless people begging for charity. It is very hard to see small children begging on the streets, but unfortunately, some people do it because they are better off like that. Not all of them are really poor. After all the money other people have given them, they could have a normal life. Instead, they prefer to hide their wealth and keep begging to have even more. How can you eradicate poverty when there are people that seem to be happy to be poor?

 

Sharing Web Sources

The website I chose to connect with their newsletter was the Children's Defense Fund.
"A strong effective, independent voice for all children of America" 

(Newsletter: http://www.childrensdefense.org/newsroom/enewsletters/


This organization grew out of the Civil Rights Movement under the direction of Marian Wright Edelman, who was the first black woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar, she worked under Dr. Martin Luther King as a counsel for the Poor People's Campaign. She began the Washington Research Project in 1969, which was a public interest law firm who monitored federal programs for low-income families, through his initiative the Children's Defense Fund was created.

Improving policies and programs for children is what the Children's Defense Fund has challenged the United States to undertake. They have grown to be recognized for their careful research on children's survival, protection, and development in all racial and income groups and for independent analysis of how federal and state policies affect children, their families and their communities.

One thing that stood out to me was their policy and priorities section which explained that the priorities for elected officials is to ensure every child's future should include:

* Ending child poverty

*Guarantee every child and pregnant woman comprehensive health and mental health     coverage and service

*Protect every child from abuse neglect and connect them to caring permanent families

*Provide high quality early childhood care and development programs for all children

*Ensure every child can read at grade level by fourth grade and guarantee quality education through high school graduation

*Stop the criminalization of children at increasingly younger ages and invest

Getting Ready Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

Issues and Trends in Early Childhood

I have reached out two Professionals in the early childhood field. Judy Charoo who is from Jamaica W.I, and Laure Toulemonde who is from Columbia, Spain. Judy has already given my a website from her country  http://www.ecc.gov.jm to check out and gather information. This website is of the Early Childhood Commission from the government of Jamaica. I cannot wait to check out this website and gather information on their issues and trends in this country.