Getting to Know Your Contacts!! Part 2

The Global Children’s Initiative (http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative/) is an outstanding program. This website for very insightful, since I still have not receive any contact form my international professional.
Recent research has increased the awareness of parents, educators, and policy makers about the importance of the early years of life. The remarkable transformation that occurs in all areas of development during the first 5 years of life lays the foundation for all future learning. How children will learn and the pace at which they learn will be influenced by the environments they encounter. Environments, which encourage children’s development, will support them physically, emotionally, socially and intellectually. Physical needs will be supported through programs that improve, support, and enhance their growth and physical development. Emotional, social, and intellectual development will be supported through programs that use an integrated approach to programming. These types of programs allow children to develop skills that will enable them to adapt to and seek mastery of their surroundings as well as provide a foundation which will ensure lifelong and meaningful learning.

The Global Children’s Initiative is a great program to ensure healthy development in all domains.  Physical and mental health are significant determinants of school readiness. Teaching teams learn about specific strategies that ensure children can achieve their maximum potential in these areas.  Overall health and physical fitness include three elements:  gross motor skills, fine motor skills, and health status and practices. Social-emotional development includes the child’s experience, expression, and management of emotions and the ability to establish positive and rewarding relationships with others (Cohen and others 2005). It encompasses both intra- and interpersonal processes. The core features of emotional development include the ability to identify and understand one’s own feelings, to accurately read and comprehend emotional states in others, to manage strong emotions and their expression in a constructive manner, to regulate one’s own behavior, to develop empathy for others, and to establish and maintain relationships. (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child 2004, 2)

Cohen, J., and others. 2005. Helping Young Children Succeed: Strategies to Promote Early Childhood Social and Emotional Development. Washington, DC: National Conference of State Legislatures and Zero to Three. http://www.zerotothree.org/policy (Outside Source)(accessed on December 7, 2006)

National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. Winter, 2004. “Children’s Emotional Development Is Built into the Architecture of Their Brains,” Working Paper No. 2. http://www.developingchild.net (Outside Source)(accessed on December 5, 2006)

Voices for Children!

http://www.voices.org/

Voices serves children and youth of all ages, from infants born drug-exposed to youth on the edge of independence (up to their 21st birthday). One quarter of the children Voices represents are five years old or younger. Over 50% are teens or older youth. Regardless of age, all children and youth who have been victims of abuse and neglect and find themselves in foster care face many threats to their health and well-being.

Of the children Voices served last year, at least 68% had been physically abused, 13% had suffered sexual abuse, 22% were drug-exposed infants, 20% had suffered from serious medical neglect and 35% experienced physical neglect. Most are victims of multiple types of abuse, neglect and abandonment.
In addition to the trauma they have suffered, our kids often suffer from health, mental health and behavior problems, developmental delays and academic failure. Voices’ children are diagnosed with serious psychological or educational challenges at a rate two to seven times higher than the general child population.

 

The importance of helping others is a principle that can be found in every sphere of society, in one form or another. Views differ as to what motivates the helping individual, or group, but, in the end, it's ones subjective experience of the act that gives it credence, or not

Humans seem to have an innate ability to help one another. This ability may very well be the aspect of "us" that promotes the survival of our species. A compassionate sense of existence drives us to be there for one another; even strangers. The Voices for Children really shows the benefits of helping children and their families.

Children eligible to enter school are provided with benefits intended to help their parents overcome the financial restrictions that might prevent their children from enrolling in school – items such as school uniforms and shoes, school fees, backpacks and other supplies. Which is wonderful! Great job, Voices for Children!

Effect of Poverty

Poverty is the condition of not having the means to be able to afford the basic human needs, which would include health care, clean water, nutrition, shelter, and clothing.  This is called destitution or absolute poverty.  Relative poverty, on the other hand, is having less income or fewer resources than the others in a country or a society. 
Believe it or not, prior to the industrial revolution, poverty had been the norm.  Reduction of poverty has been a result of economic growth as there were increased levels of production, which included modern industrial technology, which made wealth more commonplace for those who had been too poor to afford it.  Additionally investments that have occurred with modernizing agriculture has been at the forefront of the antipoverty effort.  Today the economic development is being constrained by a lack of economic freedoms.  Economic liberalizations would include extending property rights to the poor, to land, and making financial services available.

It is true that around 18 million people a year or 50,000 people in a day will die due to poverty related causes.  Most of these people are women and children.  Those humans who suffer from poverty die from starvation and disease at a disproportionate number to others.  People who live in poverty have a lower life expectancy.  Hunger and malnutrition are the gravest threats to the public health in the world and malnutrition is the biggest contributor resulting in child mortality.  There are almost eleven million children who die before becoming five who live in poverty.  There is an estimated 1.02 billion people around the world who go to bed hungry at night.  Poverty increases homelessness.  There are more than 100 million children living in the streets around the world.  Additionally, drug abuse is associated with poverty.

Sharing Web Resources!

The purpose of this website is to release information on the nationwide nonpartisan, nonprofit network called Voices for Children. This organization leads advocacy efforts at the community, state and federal levels to improve the lives of all children. The mission of this website educates public officials and the general public alike on issues that affect America’s children, especially those most vulnerable. Voices for Children are not a direct service group; they supplement the work of direct service groups that help children individually by impacting government policies and investments that help millions at a time.

This website is well planned out and easy to use. You would get comfortable at first hand. Entering the website you will see eight tabs across the top of the home page. On the home page you would see some important information on the screen. It is alright to click on any of the information to read about the organization. The first tab is the About tab. This tab allows you lean about the organization, and including letter from CEO, information on staff, annual report, and funding partners. Next, it is the Issues tab. This tab shows all the most important issues for children. The issues are: Equity and Diversity, Health, School Readiness, School Success, Safety, and Economic Stability. The following tab is Take Action. This tab allows you donate and/or get involved. Then, it is the Blog tab. The fifth tab is Member Organizations. This tab shows all networks available throughout the world. Next to that is the Media tab, which allows you access to any new releases from the organization. The sixth tab is the Research tab. Finally the last tab is the Make a Donation tab. These tabs will help you explore the information on this website.

The information on this website really shows how important education really is. So many people in this world are here trying to find a better education for future leaders. This information will help you understand why every voice for good education is very important. To gain a full understanding of this website is to start with the about tab. From there you should go in order. Each tab is very important, so take a look at them all.

There was so much important information that was cover on this website. There were three tabs that stood out to me they are Issues, Media, and Research tabs. The issues tab talks about six policy goals to advance in their vision. There are: Equity and Diversity, Health, School Readiness, School Success, Safety, and Economic Stability. As educators, we know these issues are throughout the world. Many parents and caregivers want so much for their children but do nothing about it. Instead of wanting they need to start demanding better issues for their children. So many children go lacking because of little help. The Media tab shows news releases, about voices, annual report and biography of CEO. The news releases bullet point show many articles that have been written about the organization. The articles shows how the organization strives to provide better education. The Research tab really shows how the whole organization is run. The articles written by staff and others are very informative. Reading those articles I got a better understanding on the purpose of Voices for Children.

As educator, this website shows my appreciation for early childhood. This website shows how important it is to stand for good education.

Website: http://www.voices.org/

Professional Contacts and Resources

I emailed two members of the Global Alliance NAEYC, I am waiting to hear from them soon. I know it will be a wonderful feedback.
Ghana, Africa
Rev Charles Arko-Nunoo
P.O. Box MK 157
Mankessim
C/R Ghana
Tel: + 233 42 34180
Email: 2kdotcom@ghana.com

Armenia, Asia
Step By Step Benevolent Foundation
Ruzanna Tsarukyan
Email: ruzanna@sbsbf.am

Center for the Child Care Workforcehttp://www.ccw.org/ 
(Newsletter: http://www.ccw.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=78&Itemid=72 )

National Black Child Development Institutehttp://nbcdi.org/
(Newsletter: http://nbcdi.org/support/sign-up-for-nbcdi-newsletters/ )

National Head Start Associationhttp://www.nhsa.org/  
(Newsletter: http://www.nhsa.org/news_and_advocacy/advocacy/legislative_eupdate )

 I found all of the newsletters and articles were grateful insights. On particular that caught my eye was the National Black Child Development Institute (http://nbcdi.org). I found very instresting. I really did not know this program exist. I am really amazed. this program belives that every child deserves a chance, and they are committed to uncovering every chance available to children. So  many children just need an extra push in their life. Thankfully this program is avaliable. There are so many great programs that help with the support of children and their families. I am glad to be apart of this great world.