Early Childhood Development Initiative

It is nearing the end of our first term of 2016 at our early childhood facility, which is a great time to see the progress the preschool children are making. Children are progressing quickly with writing, drawing, story-telling, singing and counting activities because they have experienced, responsive teachers and a stimulating play-based environment. 

We have had a lot of interest in our preschool this year and we have served 35 children this term.

We have a fantastic new teacher, Brigida Soares, that comes with experience in teaching preschool as well as work experience and an academic background as a physiologist. She is Portuguese which means kids can learn more Portuguese language skills helping them to become even more successful going on to further education.

Your support means we can accept more child from families who see education as the answer to alleviating poverty. 

Please donate again soon!

More than 10 low-income Timorese children are attending our facility for free due to your support, thank you! 

Also, Ba Futuru is in the midst of starting a few new parenting and teacher training programs, focused on helping schools to deliver quality education and parents to support children's safety, development and learning. Please see our website for more information about our important work.

You made a difference this year in the lives of vulnerable people in Timor-Leste.   Thank you.

Without support from people like you willing to contribute to making the lives of others better – Ba Futuru simply could not continue to operate.  This is critical given that Timor-Leste remains one of the poorest countries in the world: in 2013 it was ranked 134th out of 187 countries in the United Nations’ Human Development Index.

We have worked hard this year at Ba Futuru running more than 10 separate projects working to reduce violence, protect children, empower women and inspire young learners (more info at www.bafuturu.org).  This programming changed thinking and behaviour by directly engaging more than 1,200 parents, teachers, children, female leaders, youth and government officials – which further impacted the lives of mothers, babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers, high school students and women.  We used innovative film and community theatre to reach tens of thousands of additional people. We also hosted a PeaceJam youth conference and organized a series of arts workshops that culminated in events across Dili encouraging a safe environment for women and children to carry on their daily lives in public spaces. We have also been designing a parenting program together with experts on communications for behaviour change with support from UNICEF, which will be carried out by the government of Timor-Leste.

With the holiday season and a new year approaching we are reaching out to our supporters to contribute towards our $3000 goal to make a real difference in the lives of those who need it the most, the women and children of Timor-Leste.  Ba Futuru is part of Global Givings’ year end campaign. If you support our work through their online giving portal your donation is tax deductible and we can gain bonuses (your holiday giving will spread even further). Even a $10 donation will help or you can support a low income child to receive a quality early childhood education by giving only $70 a month! Join together with your friends to make this possible!

Please donate today. 

 https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/early-childhood/

 Help to spread the word by sending this information on supporting our important work onto family and friends!

 Thank you so much for your continued support of our work.

 In appreciation,  Sierra James

Seeing the rewards!

This is the time of year when we get to see the wonderful rewards and benefits of at risk children who have been fortunate enough to attend quality early childhood education.  Children are choosing their own writing, drawing, story-telling, singing and counting activities because they have experienced, responsive teachers and a stimulating play-based environment.  The children who have attended Ba Futuru preschool are heading off to start primary school with a love of learning, self-confidence, many different languages, important social skills and strong literacy skills. 

However, this is also the time of year when local community families are asking us if their child has been lucky enough to be selected for preschool next year.  This all depends on how much support we receive.  We do not currently have any major donors to support our early childhood education program and we are raising our own funds through closing the preschool for holiday programs and various other fundraising activities. 

Your support at this time means we can accept more children next year and say yes to more families who see education as the answer to alleviating poverty. 

Please support these children and their families by donating a preschool scholarship. 

Links:

• Ba Futuru's preschool website
• Ba Futuru's website

Ba Futuru’s Early Childhood Development Initiative has been moving forward with exciting new elements over the last few months.

·       After consultation with parents a Portuguese volunteer was introduced once a week to support children’s transition to school; weekly yoga sessions began (lead by a parent to promote parent participation and children’s physical development); and a social competence/behavior management policy was created to clearly demonstrate expectations of children and teachers. 

·       In April two capacity building sessions were held on social competence/behavior management and a third was held to discuss the new policy. Teachers were asked to demonstrate an understanding of appropriate ways of responding to children’s needs and supporting their emotional and social development. Class rules were developed in a simple form and explained to the children. We have since observed the children discussing the rules regularly and using them to support their own needs and the needs of others.

·       In May we held two capacity building sessions for educators. The first was on numeracy and literacy (focusing on the environment, learning through play and reviewing routines) while the second session was on respectful environments (considering why the environment is so important and the role of teachers in educating children on their responsibility for people, places and things). 

·       In June a capacity building workshop was held on phonics and practical tips for teaching language development.

·       A parent session in June enabled several parents to comment on how impressed they were with their children’s new empathy skills, noting examples where their preschool children told siblings and parents to treat people nicely and demonstrating how to do it when conflicts arose at home.  

·       Summer camp also began in June with more than 20 new enrollments, increasing interest in both the two year old Dili Sprouts program and in the preschool term beginning in September. It also helped to bring in much needed funds for supporting low income children to attend the preschool.

We really appreciate your donations!

What’s new:

Ba Futuru early childhood team has been spent the last several months working hard to develop a new parenting initiative. It will equip current and future parents of preschool-aged children with an understanding of child-centred learning and practical ways to be actively engaged in their children’s educational development impacting children across Timor-Leste.

Learning life skills Ba Futuru’s Preschool:

We place high importance on eco-literacy and social-literacy at our preschool.  This involves learning alongside others through nature play to foster peaceful, co-operative learning outcomes for children.  It is the teachers’ aspirations for children to be creative, happy, productive members of their community.  Recently the children and adults have planted seeds, cared for them, transported seedlings to our garden and harvested vegetables.  Children now understand that food doesn’t just appear at the table, it is grown, tended to, harvested and then cooked by many caring hands.  Gardening children are focused, communicating, and working together towards a common goal.  By giving children knowledge and skills for caring for the environment we will create a better future for our children. 

Through the opportunity to attend preschool children not only develop skills for reading and writing but also valuable skills for life. 

Match your gift:

Gifting a child a scholarship is much more than preparing them for school.  We invite you to continue to support the most important early years in a child’s life. 

Bonus day:
EVERY donation will be matched on Global Giving on May 13th between 9:00 am EDT and 23:59 pm EDT. 

Thank you for your contributions!