Inclusive ECCD: - Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and ...
Inclusive ECCD: - Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and ...
Inclusive ECCD: - Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and ...
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CASE STUDIES<br />
■ the use of the existing health <strong>and</strong> educati<strong>on</strong><br />
infrastructures rather than creating new<br />
cadres of workers;<br />
■ basing the management of the programme<br />
in the regi<strong>on</strong>;<br />
■ the focus <strong>on</strong> involving <strong>and</strong> empowering<br />
communities.<br />
The Respect of the Local Culture<br />
The project was guided by a respect for the<br />
culture of the regi<strong>on</strong> <strong>and</strong> the recogniti<strong>on</strong> that for<br />
development to be effective, it needs to proceed<br />
in harm<strong>on</strong>y with the local culture. C<strong>on</strong>siderable<br />
time was expended at the outset of the project to<br />
meet people throughout the regi<strong>on</strong> to learn about<br />
the needs of the area. One of the major activities<br />
of the first year of the project was to produce a<br />
set of training materials <strong>on</strong> child development<br />
<strong>and</strong> early stimulati<strong>on</strong>, in c<strong>on</strong>sultati<strong>on</strong> with the<br />
teachers <strong>and</strong> health workers, which reflected the<br />
practices of the regi<strong>on</strong>. These materials illustrate<br />
a profound respect for the local communities.<br />
A diverse series of materials has been produced<br />
as part of the ‘Hopeful Steps’ programme. These<br />
include recordings of music <strong>and</strong> oral traditi<strong>on</strong>s,<br />
story books in local languages, festivals of local<br />
poetry <strong>and</strong> s<strong>on</strong>g, all of which mirror the rich cultural<br />
heritage of the people of the regi<strong>on</strong>.<br />
The Value of C<strong>on</strong>sultati<strong>on</strong><br />
The programme facilitated the coming together<br />
of people from diverse backgrounds <strong>and</strong> perspectives<br />
to a comm<strong>on</strong> forum to discuss their<br />
needs <strong>and</strong> c<strong>on</strong>cerns. They were given access to<br />
the decisi<strong>on</strong>-making process at every level of the<br />
interventi<strong>on</strong>. C<strong>on</strong>sultati<strong>on</strong> <strong>and</strong> participati<strong>on</strong> with<br />
the community was sought at every level of the<br />
decisi<strong>on</strong> making process. A key element in this<br />
process was for the facilitators to be able to listen<br />
carefully <strong>and</strong> then act <strong>on</strong> what was heard. There<br />
was no script in h<strong>and</strong> at the outset of the project.<br />
The acti<strong>on</strong>s of the project emerged out of the dynamic<br />
c<strong>on</strong>sultative process. In adopting this<br />
process we were fortunate that our funders realised<br />
that such a process takes time <strong>and</strong> cannot<br />
be hurried. The programme that was subsequently<br />
developed was therefore characterised by flexibility<br />
<strong>and</strong> resp<strong>on</strong>siveness to suggesti<strong>on</strong>s from<br />
within the regi<strong>on</strong>.<br />
Replicability<br />
Can the model of development outlined here be<br />
duplicated elsewhere under similar c<strong>on</strong>diti<strong>on</strong>s?<br />
The answer is yes, when the following are present:<br />
■ the promoters of the innovati<strong>on</strong> believe in<br />
the potential of the people they are serving;<br />
■ the innovators have the ability to guide individuals<br />
to take charge of their own affairs,<br />
who for so l<strong>on</strong>g have traditi<strong>on</strong>ally been followers;<br />
■ active participati<strong>on</strong> is achieved at all phases<br />
of the development process;<br />
■ a forum <strong>and</strong> a process are created in which<br />
the evolving needs of people can be discussed;<br />
■ people are willing to share their percepti<strong>on</strong><br />
of their needs with the programme;<br />
■ the community has a desire to change;<br />
■ the programme developers are willing to<br />
<strong>and</strong> capable of listening to people who may<br />
not be c<strong>on</strong>sidered articulate;<br />
■ the programme developers are able to resp<strong>on</strong>d<br />
according to the needs expressed by<br />
the community, rather than to any prec<strong>on</strong>ceived<br />
agenda;<br />
■ the innovators are experienced in the art of<br />
c<strong>on</strong>sultati<strong>on</strong>;<br />
■ funders allow the implementers sufficient<br />
time to facilitate the c<strong>on</strong>sultative process;<br />
■ partnerships are effectively established between<br />
all the key players <strong>and</strong> the major<br />
government agencies.<br />
C<strong>on</strong>clusi<strong>on</strong><br />
The Hopeful Steps programme has attempted to<br />
develop a management style that allows the lofty<br />
c<strong>on</strong>cepts of community participati<strong>on</strong> <strong>and</strong> empowerment<br />
to be nurtured. There was no predetermined<br />
script for the project; many of the most<br />
creative features of the programme emerged over<br />
the course of time. This process has resulted in<br />
the Hopeful Steps programme where a modest<br />
beginning in the area of early stimulati<strong>on</strong> has<br />
now emerged into a wider integrated development<br />
programme involving many pers<strong>on</strong>s.<br />
REFERENCES:<br />
Guela, N. 1994. Baseline Health Data of the Rupununi<br />
District in Guyana. University of Berkeley<br />
Ministry of Health. 1994. Health Statistics <strong>on</strong> Guyana.<br />
Ministry of Health, Guyana.<br />
Stout, S. 1966. Sustainability of CBR <strong>and</strong> BCHP<br />
Programmes in Guyana. University of Berkeley.<br />
ENDNOTES:<br />
1 Brian O’Toole, an educati<strong>on</strong>al psychologist from<br />
Engl<strong>and</strong>, has been working in Guyana for the past 18<br />
years. For the past 10 years he has been the Director of<br />
the Guyana CBR Program.<br />
2 Shoma Stout is pursuing medical studies at the University<br />
of California at Berkeley. At the same time she is<br />
completing a Masters Program in Development Studies.<br />
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