By Julia Sharinger | ECDI Project Director
Over the last nine months Ba Futuru’s Early Childhood Development Initiative (ECDI) has:
a) Provided two trainings on Early Childhood Education for 51 educators in the Dili district and Bazartete, Liquica district, and
b) Opened a new Early Childhood Education Facility with two classrooms, which is being used to provide Early Childhood Education and care to 18 children aged between two to six years, including scholarship students from the local Seroja community and subsidized children of Ba Futuru staff members. The Early Childhood Education Facility’s curriculum uses play-based learning, participatory and child-centred teaching approaches as well as trauma pedagogy to engage and teach children from a wide range of backgrounds, including those who have been affected by conflict, violence or poverty.
The importance of engaging and educating very young children is often misunderstood in Timor-Leste. Ba Futuru has reached out extensively to parents in the surrounding Seroja community as well as to those who work at Ba Futuru to strengthen their awareness of and support for Early Childhood Education. Educating parents, caregivers and the broader community raises awareness of the importance of engaging children positively during the early stages of their development, provides skills and knowledge in this area and contributes to the legitimacy and sustainability of the Early Childhood Development Initiative.
Additionally, Ba Futuru has liaised with and formed a strong relationship with the Early Childhood Education section of the Ministry of Education (MoE). The MoE has already requested Ba Futuru’s Training Manual on Early Childhood Education so that they can incorporate its teachings into their own teacher trainings and is currently discussing the possibility of outsourcing trainings to Ba Futuru. Through this, Ba Futuru is becoming a vital actor in developing and promoting standards for Early Childhood Education in Timor-Leste.
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