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?