Exploring my organizations

Information Particularly Relevant to Your Current Professional Development

I found an article on UNICEF called Try to Remember (2017), that explains how we do not take the time to reflect and slow down. I agree with the author, Carly, because she explains that

“We live in a world where a moment alone is a rarity. We live in a world where it is increasingly harder to slow down and reflect, when everything around us tells us we should be moving, thinking, and acting faster. We live in a world where we often forget who we are and who we would like to be in the midst of the chaotic tempo we are expected to keep up with. Yet in order for us to make changes, whether it be for ourselves or the greater good, that moment to stop and think is the moment that can change everything” (Carly, 2017)

I have come to realized that we live in a world that can consume us from really understanding what is going around us, who want to be, and how we can improve ourselves. I feel this relates to my professional development because I came to realize that I need to understand who I am as a person, and who I need to be for families and their children. I am slowly beginning to understand by doing this, I can recognize and relate to families and their children on a different level.

 

Ideas/statements/resources, I found controversial or made me think

about an issue in new ways

 

After listening to a podcast, The Influence of Media on Young Children’s Development (2016), it made me think about me growing up. They considered the television is background noise that children pick a lot from and can distract children (Murphy podcast, 2016). I am not against this idea that children are not distracted from adult media, but it made me think about my up growing.

When I was younger I remember watching both entertainment shows and educational shows. My shows consisted of L’Albero Azzurro (An Italian show), The Little Mermaid, Arthur, Doug, Sesame Street, Barney, Bananas in Pyjamas, Magic school bus, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Reading Rainbow etc. I do not remember being glued to the television a lot. I was either playing with my dolls and carriage, playing teacher, playing with my brother, out with my mom, in the park, in the library and what not.

As I got older, I would go home straight from school and do my homework with the television on. The television never bothered me, it was background noise, but it was not a constant “background to daily living” (Murphy podcast, 2016). My mom could not help me with my homework because she did not understand English, so it was hard for too help. Sometimes when I did not have the television on, my mom would either have the Italian news or Italian radio on, which I did not find distracting either. At times, I would overhear something and ask my mom about it, but go back to playing.

It made me think that when I was growing up, it was a different time. We did not have much technology around as we do in our society today. I could understand why any adult media could be distracting for children because everyone, adults and children alike, are consumed by these devices. So, it made me look at things in a different perspective.

Adding to my understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field

Article: Building Strong Foundations: A Policy Framework for Infants, Toddlers, and Families

Authors: Ullrich, R., Cole, P., Gebhard, B., Mattews, H., & Schmit, S.

Website: Zero to Three (2017)

Quote: “What’s more, many policies and programs are not designed to be responsive to families’ complex needs or with consideration for how they might further disadvantage already marginalized communities. Sometimes policymakers do not even make the connection or recognize their contribution to young children’s healthy development”

Quote: “…policies, programs, and initiatives that intentionally address the interconnected needs of young children and their families are likely to achieve the greatest outcomes. Working toward investment and support for connected and impactful policies will truly improve the lives of infants, toddlers, and families”

I know I may be hard to please many different families with their needs, however, policies and programs should try their best to accommodate to all families and children. They need to understand marginalized communities by analyzing the neighborhood, and coming together with economists, neuroscientists, and other politicians to make “the right policies and sufficient funding to implement those policies, families with infants and toddlers could thrive” (Ullrich, R., Cole, P., Gebhard, B., Mattews, H., & Schmit, S., 2017).

Reference

 

Carly (2017). Try to Remember. UNICEF: Voices of Youth. Retrieved from http://www.voicesofyouth.org/en/posts/try-to-remember

Murphy, A.P. (2016, Feb). Little kids, big questions: The influence of media on young children’s development. Zero to Three podcast. Retrieved from https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/284-the-influence-of-media-on-young-children-s-development#downloads

Ullrich, R., Cole, P., Gebhard, B., Mattews, H., & Schmit, S. (2017, Sept). Building Strong Foundations: A Policy Framework for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. Zero To Three. Retrieved from https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/2054-building-strong-foundations-a-policy-framework-for-infants-toddlers-and-families

Poverty in Yemen

Fact: “In Yemen today, 1.7 million children are acutely malnourished and require urgent care. This includes at least 462,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition, who could die if they do not receive the assistance they need” (Madhok, R. & Al Sharafi, E., 2017).

Picture this: “passing destroyed buildings and hanging concrete smashed in the conflict. Once a flourishing capital city, Sana’a is now in tatters, damaged physically as well in spirit. Its inhabitants are dragging their feet and barely making ends meet. Long queues at petrol pumps or at grocery stores, closed schools and bombed hospitals all remind its citizens of a better past and a dreaded future ahead” (Madhok, R., 2016).

How would you feel to live unsure what would happen next? Or in a home that is half destroyed? Or in a hospital with overcrowding and half destroyed? People in Yemen are in poverty because the lack of resources such as food and medicine,  and their homes are destroyed because of the war. So it becomes a struggle to rebuild a new community, environment, buildings, etc when it will just be destroyed again. People begin to lose hope. How are they expected to see a bright future ahead of them, if around them they see hopelessness? Especially when they are forced to leave their homes.

Picture this: “Nearly 2.2 million Yemeni children are acutely malnourished, and an estimated 462,000 children suffer from severe acute malnutrition – almost a three-fold rise over 2014 levels. If not treated on time, these children are 11 times more at risk of dying than healthy children. Even if they survive, they risk not fulfilling their developmental potentials, posing a serious threat to an entire generation in Yemen, and keeping the country mired in the vicious cycle of poverty and underdevelopment” (Madhok, R. & Al Sharafi, E., 2017).

There are children suffering all over the world. In Yemen, many children are undergoing malnutrition. Sometimes, it can be difficult for doctors to help these families and their children because, again, there is a lack of resources due to the number of children suffering everyday. As well as the number of doctors, and the half collapsed hospitals that can only withhold so much. A lot of families depend on the hospitals to help them, but also cannot afford the medical expenses. 

Overall: Due to the malnutrition, it could be hard for children to focus in school because of the lack of energy they have. As well as, having to staying in hospitals for multiple days, causing the children to be behind. On top of all this, there can be limited schools because of the destruction of war, causing families to travel very far distances to obtain this education. An attempt that some might make, while others probably will not because they are more concerned about trying to sustain their lives everyday for themselves and their families. 

Update November 19th

Additional source: Just heard about this today on ABC news & 60 minutes CBS

Masri, L. (2017). Yemen ‘one of the most dangerous places on earth’ for children: UN. ABC News. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/International/yemen-dangerous-places-earth-children/story?id=51223276

• “It exacerbates the world’s worst humanitarian crisis where almost three years of war have left over 20 million people in need of assistance, 7 million of them on the brink of famine”

7 million are in the brink of famine because of the blockade of any ships coming to Yemen with food, gas, or water.

• “In recent weeks, diphtheria, an infection that can be life-threatening for children, has been spreading fast in Yemen. There have been 120 diagnosed cases and 14 deaths, most of whom were children” 

Infections are spreading faster in Yemen because of the weak immune systems and because of the massive heat waves that is occurring.

 

Reference

Madhok, R. (2016). A mission to save lives in Yemen. UNICEF. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/yemen_92970.html

 

Madhok, R. & Al Sharafi, E. (2017). In Yemen, conflict and poverty exacerbate child malnutrition. UNICEF. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/yemen_94543.html

Sharing Web Resources

Name and link of organization

Global Fund for Children

https://globalfundforchildren.org

Brief description of organization focus

Their focus in five steps

1. “We find – we research, explore, and identify innovative groups working with children and youth around the world”
2. “We fund—we invest wisely, funding our partner’s life-changing programs for children and youth and keeping a watchful eye on how those funds are put to use”
3. “Together we strengthen—we advise, mentor, and guide our partners. We build mutual trust, accountability, and enduring relationships. We provide tools for self-assessment. We support and help our partners grow”
4. “We build networks—we connect our partners to each other and to national and regional networks. We bring together brilliant minds to share knowledge, fuel advocacy, and build movements of social change”
5. “And when our partners graduate we stand proud—our greatest joy comes from knowing that we played a part in helping our partners grow strong enough to continue their important work for children without us”

(Global Fund for Children, 2017)

The Global Fund for Children organization works with young children to help fund programs that can provide the resources needed for a healthy development. In connecting and funding these programs, they help those programs reach out to other networks worldwide to help share ideas, knowledge, and help encourage change (Global Fund for Children, 2017).

Current issue/trend

Name of article: Girls’ Education: Best Practices from Grassroots Organizations

Date of article: September 7^th, 2017

Link: https://globalfundforchildren.org/news/girls-education-best-practices-from-grassroots-organizations/

As there is an inequality education for children of different cultures, race, ethnic backgrounds etc, there is also an inequality for genders. Girls around the world are not able to get the same education as boys. They fail to realize that educating women and girls has many benefits. If girls are able to receive the right quality education they deserve it could lead to “a reduction in child marriage, teen pregnancy, at-risk behaviors, female genital cutting, and violence against women and girls” (Global Fund for Children, 2017). Furthermore, it helps girls who will become mothers to “ensure consistent prenatal care, immunization, and medical care for their young children, passing the benefits of education on to the next generation” (Global Fund for Children, 2017).

Sharing thoughts:

I believe this relates to our theme this week, changing demographics and diversity

Getting Ready–Expanding Horizons and Expanding Resources

I chose The Global Fund for Children: An organization which provides capital to communities worldwide to improve the lives of children. 

website: https://globalfundforchildren.org

The reason I chose this website was because of their mission.

Their Mission: “Our mission is to transform the lives of the world’s most vulnerable children and youth—trafficked children, child laborers, refugees, children with disabilities, and many others—and to help them reach their full potential” (The Global Fund for Children, 2017).

I could not agree more with their mission because it is great to see that their are organizations that willing to help support ALL children around the world. They have partnerships across the world to help those of low income, neglected and abuse, encouragement and so much more. I feel as though I barely touched the surface when I explored their website. Therefore, I am curious to know more about them, their achievements, and their journal/articles. 

Additional Resource

Zero To Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families Website: http://www.zerotothree.org/

I chose this resource because it has a lot of recommendations such as parenting advice, policy & advocacy, brain development, early learning etc (Zero To Three, 2017). It helps educators and parents to explore the first three years of a child’s life. This also connects to the resource above because this resource provides positive reinforcement for a healthy child development. 

 

Reference

The Global Fund for Children (2017). Retrieved from https://globalfundforchildren.org

Zero To Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families (2017) Retrieved from http://www.zerotothree.org/