Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 1
My conversation partners are:
Errisa S.
Errisa is a preschool teacher that lives in the Bahamas. Errisa enjoys working with young children and their families. She enjoys seeing them grow, master new skills, and thrive.
Marlene H.
Marlene works with children from birth to 12 years. She lives in Guatemala City Guatemala. Marlene has been working with young children for over 20 years. She enjoys working with children and cares for them in her home.
What I have learned from my conversation partners is that there is a big need for early childhood education and parenting programs. They both said that more women are working outside the home because their partner's income is not enough or they are single mothers. Also, children are being cared by older siblings or being left at home alone. They also feel that affordable high quality care is needed because many parents cannot afford to pay for their children to attend such programs.
Errisa mentions that many people in her community are struggling with poverty and that the older siblings are "acting" as parents to the younger siblings because parents work outside the home. She said that some of the children whom she works with are being affected by poverty and those children are the ones who act out. She also said that the children do not have the proper clothes to attend class and that the children are mentally fed up. She feels saddened, but tries to provide a safe environment for them while in her care.
Marlene cares for children in her home because many parents cannot afford to pay center fees. She charges them a minimal fee because she knows that parents are struggling to pay for their living expenses. She said that she used to work at a center, but saw that many children were being cared by older siblings or left alone all day and felt compelled to help.
Poverty is an issue that is affecting a lot of children and families around the world. I cannot wait to one day wake up and hear that poverty has ended for good.
Reyna,
ReplyDeleteI love ethat you are finding connections across the world that share the passion for early childhood. I hope to find one more connection, as I have sent many emails to educators in Mexico because I find it interesting that there are so many similarities in wants and needs. I see that by your connections in the Bahamas and Guatamala.
Thank you for sharing.
Reyna, my international contact is a child care provider in Kenya, and I see some similarities based on your post. She as well stated parents would leave their children at home alone because they can not afford child care. In Kenya, she only charges $10 every three months. It is so unfortunate that some children will never be able to live up to their full potential because of poverty. I too agree that hopefully one day we will not have to have a discussion about poverty.
ReplyDeleteReyna,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about your international connections. They both sound to be strong women whom understand the importance of early childhood programs. It is sad that children, parents, and families live in poverty all over the world. I could not imagine being a child and having to take care of my siblings. My best friend whom is like my sister tells me stories of her family living in poverty and since she was the oldest she had to care for her three younger siblings. She cooked for them, made sure they were clean, and when they attended school she made sure all homework was completed and so fourth. She would even have to take them along on all her dates with her now husband.I pray that in my lifetime poverty comes to a hault! Great post thank you for sharing.
Misty Rolland
I enjoyed reading about your connections from other countries and it's interesting to read about mothers working outside of the home more and more. I think here we just see that as reality, but it's just now becoming an issue within other countries. Do the older siblings ever have to step up and get jobs? I have seen students in the high school that their families depend on them working and they helped support their families while still in high school. Is this an issue over there with families living in poverty?
ReplyDeleteReyna, great connect with your international contact. It is good to listen and learn to someone outside the STATES as they share what poverty is to them. It really moves you and shifts your professionalism to consider others first.
ReplyDeleteAwesome work!
Bea