Early Childhood Development

According to UNICEF, Early Childhood Development (ECD) is the key to a full and productive life for a child. In fact, in the first years of life, children establish the cognitive, emotional and social foundation upon which they can build their futures. Sadly, country-wide estimates indicate that only 10% of children in Sierra Leone are enrolled in pre-primary school or nursery programs. Pre-school programs are undervalued by parents and unavailable in most low-resource communities, and at-home preparation for entrance into primary school is rare. As a result, a large number of children lack essential school readiness skills upon entering primary school, limiting their ability to reach their full potential. That is what World Hope is hoping to change through the ECD project, getting children ready for school so they can harness the full opportunities afforded by an education and empowering their parents and caregivers to enable them. One of the goals of the ECD project is for 10,000 children under five-years-old to participate in early stimulation or early learning activities at specialized community centers and through home visits, and WHI also intends to educate 2,000 caregivers of a child under five about ECD and good child reading skills.