Gharoghari Bal Vikas- Parents as Teachers

“Early childhood care and education (ECCE) is more than preparation for primary school. It aims at the holistic development of a child’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical needs in order to build a solid and broad foundation for lifelong learning and wellbeing. ECCE has the possibility to nurture caring, capable and responsible future citizens.”- UNESCO

Some important data regarding ECCE are as follows:-

• 55% of India's school-going children cannot read and understand a short, age-appropriate text by class 5. (Source: World Bank's learning poverty index.) 
• The British longitudinal study EPPE (Effective Provision of Preschool Education) clearly demonstrates the links between various models of ECCE and later achievement at the primary level.” (Source: position paper national focus group on early childhood education).
• Improving the quality of ECE is now SDG 4.2 and is heavily emphasized in the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

BELIEF deeply values the pivotal role parents play in fostering the holistic development of their children. Hence, our approach involves actively engaging with parents to equip them with the necessary skills for creating a nurturing and supportive environment, conducive to their children's growth.

We are currently working in the Mundhwa and Hadapsar clusters of Pune. Our engagement with the parents takes various forms, including home visits where we distribute and elucidate the contents of our publication, 'Gharoghari Bal Vikas'. During the COVID-19 lockdown, recognizing the need for remote support, we initiated the dissemination of Early Childhood Education (ECE) content to parents via WhatsApp. The positive reception of this initiative spurred us to expand our efforts, resulting in the publication of our inaugural parents' activity book, 'Gharoghari Bal Vikas', on November 4, 2023.

This book, the first instalment in a series of three, comprises a rich assortment of activities and games complemented by Teaching Learning Materials (TLM) designed for use alongside the book. Featuring vibrant illustrations and user-friendly design, it aims to cater to parents of all educational backgrounds, ensuring accessibility and ease of use.

RESPONSE FROM THE FIELD

When distributing the book in our community, we receive a mix of emotions and responses from the parents but the overriding feeling has been that of hope and determination. Parents have told us that even though they did not receive educational support from their parents, they are excited to give the same to their children. Parents have sent us heartwarming videos of them using the book with their children which has helped them in spending meaningful and quality time with their children.

Through initiatives like these, we aspire to enhance the effectiveness of our interventions, fostering deeper connections and maximizing the impact on child development.

We seek monetary support for publishing the second book in this series. The work on the second part has already begun and is coming along very well.

We are grateful for your support. Thank you.