Van de Linde T_ Influencing and Developing Good Policy in Early Childhood Development Amongst Pastor...

8/3/2019 Van de Linde T_ Influencing and Developing Good Policy in Early Childhood Development Amongst Pastor a List Communities in East Africa

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Building on Peoples Strengths,

Samburu Loipi Projectin Kenya

Presented at

Pastoralism and Poverty Reduction in East Africa:A Policy Research Conference

Nairobi, 27-28 June 2006

Tanja van de Linde,

Save the Children USA and

Stephen Lenaiyasa,Christian Childrens Fund


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Food for Thought

Between 25-40 million children ofschool age live in nomadic pastoralistsocieties

Only 10-50% attend school 15-25 million out of the 100 million out

of school children are from nomadicpastoralist communities (Oxfam Dec.2005)


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More food for thought

The real question is how to use the availablefunds wisely. The best evidence supports thepolicy prescription: Invest in the veryyoung James J. Heckman PhD, Nobel

Laureate in Economic Science 2000.


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Loipi Project Design

The project was designed by Christian ChildrensFund with financial and technical support from theBernard van Leer Foundation

CCF was already working in Samburu Districtfocusing on health, food security, water and primaryeducation

The loipi model is now being implemented in Kenya,Tanzania, Uganda (SC-Norway) Ethiopia, Nigeria andNamibia


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THE SAMBURU PEOPLE

Traditional child rearing practices that the projectbuilt on:

Grandmothers as caregivers

great value on children as a source of wealth

and continuity for the community. Use of home based care centers popularly

known as loipi where feeding, growth

monitoring, using beads, playing, story telling,singing, role play took place


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Universal concepts, local context Community participation and ownership Holistic child development (cognitive, social,

emotional, physical)

Traditional childcare practices combined withmodern care and wellbeing ideas

Use of locally available materials

the small-scale, replicable model of the loipi Partnership of NGO innovation with governmenthealth, education and welfare services

Use of loipi as focal points for nutrition, health and

wider community education Responsiveness to specific situations in a local

context ECD programs can influence the formal schooling

system.


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Positive effects of the Loipi on childrens

development

Based on theories of constructivism and

social learning Belief in children constructing own

knowledge by interacting with materials,

siblings and adults

Learning through modelling and imitation


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Positive effects of the Loipi on childrensdevelopment

Language acquisition through story telling, songs,

poems, tongue-twisters and riddles mental development through stimulation and play

activities valuing and participating in their rich cultural

heritage Children develop to their full potential through

accessing the health and nutrition services delivered

through the loipi Children with special needs are more readilyidentified and provided access to such extra care andsupport as is available


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LESSONS LEARNT Relevant partnership provides opportunities for

holistic interventions

Integration with other CCF existing programsstrengthens the projects impact. Continuous training of parents and other project

implementers leads to sustainability

Cultural strengths of the communities should beidentified and appropriately utilized in programs.

Fathers participation in ECD needs to beenhanced

Motivation through training opportunities andproject exchange visits to volunteer parents isimportant.


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Sustainability of the loipi programme The loipi programme is based on traditional

approaches rather than being an alien intrusion Communities benefit in terms of childrens health,

development and education materials used in the loipi are locally made and

produced, using community labour and expertise Caregivers are community members concept and activities of the loipi are reasonably

compatible with mobility of the community

Community members are trained and supported tocarry out activities such as growth monitoring andhealth promotion.


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Sustainability of the loipi programme Complementary inputs from a range of bodies

including governmental education and health sector

offices, CBOs and UN agencies, spread theinstitutional support beyond the catalytic role of CCF Income generation and food-security activities

complement the ECD activities

Peer-to-peer sharing of ideas and experiencehorizontally among loipi is a stronger and morevalid alternative to isolated innovations with verticalsupport between a community and the supporting

CBO


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Points challenging sustainability Resources that are beyond the scope of the

communities to provide are required to run the

loipi programme in its full form and in the longerterm (including technical guidance andorganisation, funds for incentives and somematerials and food)

Change is a slow process, and the results aredifficult to entrench once external support hasbeen removed

Poverty remains a predominant contextual factor

exerting pressure against community andorganisational persistence in the innovation


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Points challenging sustainability Deterioration of loipi play apparatus and

buildings through weathering is rapid, requiring

constant renovation Parents associate the loipi programme with the

CCF-supported project, and may be dependenton the focal point and leadership of an NGO

Motivation to work on a voluntary basis, bycaregivers, other community members and youthvolunteers, may have a finite duration

Land and forestry resources (for loipi sites andapparatus, respectively) are in short supply andneed to be negotiated with local authorities.


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Way Forward

The Loipi programme has excellentpotential for replication in other regions,assuming that the underlying concept is

distilled and disseminated and thelocally-specific components of the

design are replaced by what will workin the communities and settings wherethe approach is to take root.


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What is replicable? the important role of grandmothers in childcare valuing and respecting children

care as a community responsibility making a special place for children to gather which is

secure and enhancing to their daily experience andaccessible to all the community

social reconstruction and wider communitydevelopment as a co-commitment of ECD

incorporation of health and nutrition support into the

ECD programme, based at the loipi sites preparation of children for their progression into

formal pre-primary or primary education whilstavoiding the distortion of ECD into accelerated

commencement of primary education.


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Conclusion

The ECD loipi program improves pastoralist society

through: Focus on the crucial and often overlooked early years

Improving the subsequent academic performance of

students in primary school Non-educational improvements to society as a whole

reducing gender and income inequalities


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