A Good Start To Life

"I can see a clear difference between children who went to an ECD centre and children that did not. They perform better once they go to primary school. Children who are getting early childhood education are more open: they know how to express their thoughts and feelings. You also see it in hygiene and health."

Rwandan teacher Marie Rosine summarizes some of the benefits of early childhood development programs. When I was a child, I grew up with the idea that school starts at the age of seven. For younger children, there was no form of education, while the first years are crucial for social, emotional, and cognitive development. Humans develop fastest and most during the first years of their lives.

Research showed that delays in brain development and healthy growth of the body have an irreversible negative effect on the rest of someone's life. My experience is that many poverty-affected families in Rwanda don't have the knowledge and abilities to support their children in the first years of their lives. I have visited a number of communities within Rwanda where I met young children in homes or out in the fields playing waiting to be 7 years old to be able to join a primary school. Just like me when I was young. Luckily the narrative is changing.

In 2011 the government of Rwanda started investing in early childhood development, partnering with NGO's they work towards the day that each child in Rwanda gets the opportunity to go to Early Childhood Development Centres.

In the class of teacher Marie Rosine children learn through play important social skills and their cognitive development is stimulated as well. The children get food at school, which helps them to grow well and not fall sick. Through this, children get a chance at a good start in life.

An important success factor is the involvement of parents and the community. In the program of Help a Child and African Evangelistic Enterprise parents learn more about the process of development of young children, so they can give them the right care and support. A parent committee is managing the school, so it is community owned. I think equipping communities with these tools and facilities is an investment in the future success of the next generation.