Chehab works
with practitioners, policy makers, and the Early Childhood community to raise their
awareness about topics such as child crime, child rights, and trains caregivers
on best practices. Since her start in 2005, Chehab has focused on projects in
Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Iraq, Egypt, Sudan, and Yemen. Her most rewarding
project was a Psychosocial Support Project implemented in Lebanon and targeted
the families and children suffering from the aftermath of the July, 2006 war in
Lebanon which lasted 33 days and resulted in the destruction of 126 elementary
schools. Chehab’s project targeted the effected villages by conducting a 6 days
training for parents and teachers on the emotional and social reactions
children might experience in such post conflict situations. Chehab states that
she found it critical to train the mother, father, and teacher because “if
adults are not supported, they can’t support the children” (WFF, 2011).
I chose to report on Kyrgyzstan, a country that was part
of the Soviet Union until 1991, when it gained its independence.
CHIP researchers
examining trends in childhood poverty in Kyrgyzstan found that:
·
Children excessively
live in poverty. An estimated 57 percent of urban infants under the age of one,
and 65 percent of rural infants under the age of one live in poverty.
·
Children, particularly those under 7, are more likely than
the population as a whole to live in poverty and are significantly more likely
to live in chronic poverty - to be poor for four or more consecutive years.
·
Young families and
single parent families are particularly vulnerable to poverty.
·
As a result, in
2001, it was estimated that 7 percent of children are malnourished, and
approximately 14 percent of the population had no access to health services.
·
The growing poverty
led to an estimated 24 percent of children working either full or part-time on family
farms, agriculture, domestic service, or as porters at markets.
The government has developed a Comprehensive Development
Framework, which is a 15 year vision for development in Kyrgyzstan. In addition,
a wide range of local, national, and international non-governmental organizations
are also engaged in poverty reduction and social welfare activities, many of
them directly with children. However, much more concerted action is needed to
tackle the many problems faced by children in poverty in Kyrgyzstan today (CHIP,
n.d.).
This whole week has been an eye-opening experience in
regards to the depth of the problem of poverty around the world. Even though I
was aware of the existence of the problem, I never imagined the depth until I
read CHIP’s astonishing statistics and the consequent effect on children. According
to CHIP, “Over 600 million children world-wide
live in absolute poverty - an estimated 1 in 4”(CHIP,n.d.). Children often bear the
physical and emotional costs of poverty” These are real numbers and these
numbers are real children. This is perhaps the most striking reality check I
have ever faced in my life and in my opinion no one has an excuse not to make
it part of their business and try to contribute somehow, regardless of their
profession.
References:
Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Center (CHIP). n.d.
Country Overviews. Retrieved from
World Forum Foundation. 2011. World Forum Radio. Retrieved
from
Rola,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog. I enjoyed reading about what is happening in special education around the world. This week has been eye opening to me as well. I live in a diverse area with a lot of surrounding poverty. I see it on a daily basis but reading about the statistics and numbers really opened my eyes. Thanks for sharing your information.
I too, have learned much about children and poverty this week. I agree whole-heartedly that everyone, no matter their profession, has an ethical and civic duty to help children in need. I was very interested to read about Chehab's amazing work! My sister works in a school that has many refugee children who's families have fled their countries for various reasons. Helping children cope with such traumatizing events can be a daunting part of the job without proper training.
ReplyDeleteHi Rola,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post this week, especially the conversation with Maysoun Chehab from Lebanon. It sounds like she is doing great things, as far as improving the rights, and circumstances for children living in difficult situations. I also think the project she established for children living in in Lebanon, that survived the aftermath of the War, is a very crucial and important awareness for children and their families. I think far too often people think just because children are young, that they won't really won't suffer any emotional distress or anguish. But for those of us that work in this field of Early Childhood, we know the opposite is actually true, and that's why these kinds of programs and projects are crucial for children who have suffered such incredible ordeals. Great job!
Sylvia