After many attempts to make contact with international
contacts I have decided to go with the alternative for the blog assignment. I
listen to the podcast of Ms. Delfena Mitchell of the Liberty Foundation. Ms. Mitchell
is the directory of Liberty House located in Belize. She tells the story of a
young child that has suffered from physical abuse and now lives in the home. He
is a non-verbal child until they go on a horseback ride. He opens up and talks
to her but upon his return to the home he becomes non-verbal again. Yet over
time he starts to talk in part because he was given the time to heal by being
allowed to work on the grounds outside which he enjoyed. I learned that Belize
has the highest rate of child abuse in the Caribbean nation. One on one time can
give children the security that they need to feel safe enough to talk about
what has happen to them. I have emailed
Ms. Mitchell and the CEO of the Liberty Foundation Ms. Marcelle Camping. I hope
to make contact with them because I would like to learn more about child care
in general in Belize.
The World Forum has drafted a report summarizing the
commitment entitled “Raising Environmentally Passionate Future Generations.”
The objective is to promote future generations of environmental stewards by
recruiting, motivating, and training 236 professionally diverse Community Teams
from 93 nations to lead local campaigns to reconnect over 2 million young
children with nature.
What is the Convention on the Rights of the
Child?
The Convention on the Rights of the Child
(CRC) is an internationally recognized agreement between nations which
establishes a comprehensive set of goals for individual nations to achieve on
behalf of their children.
The United States is one of only two members of the United
Nations that has not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child while
the other 193 countries have been willing to make this commitment to their
children. I believe that ratification of this important treaty is an important
part of being a global citizen.
Some initiatives that they are working on include:
Children’s Rights
Curriculum
EC eTeaching
Global Leaders for Young Children
Including Children with Special Needs
Men in Early Childhood Education
Rights of Children in Children’s Homes
Hi Chenieka, I listened to the same podcast as you did. I agree with you about the importance of providing children with a sense of security. I think that applies to our various learning environments, as well. It is after the children feel safe and secure, that the students open themselves up to learning the new and exciting things that we can provide for them.
ReplyDeleteChenieka, what a touching story of the young boy. I think when one becomes involved in the lives of children who have suffered a form of abuse, actually I suppose it is true for all children and all people, it is so important to be sensitive to their needs. To know when to be involved and close and when to give them the space so that they can process their emotions or to lose themselves in chores that distract their minds from the suffering they experienced. Colleagues of mine adopted three sisters whilst living in Estonia, as the time the oldest child was a mere 6, her sisters 4 and 18 mo. She realized that things were not going to improve in her home, her mum was a drug addict and neglected the girls terribly. The 6 yr old packed a small shopping bag with all the clothes they owned and walked the girls over to an orphanage in their town, where my friends met them whilst volunteering. The girls are all nearly grown up now, but they all exhibited some really odd (to us) behaviors, like always hiding food amongst their clothes and toys just in case something happened, they would have a store that they could turn to. They have needed a lot of support and counseling over the years, but every bit of assistance has been worth the effort. They are all beautifully independent and strong in their own way.
ReplyDeleteCheneika, I had no idea Belize had a high rate of child abuse, I've always wanted to visit there for tourist reasons of course. I know this hits home for you, as I recall your story of your painful childhood. Once again I applaud you for being able to tackle this subject with such conviction!
ReplyDeleteCheneika, I had a co-worker from Belize. he would describe the living conditions from royalty to homeless. When he would share pictures I could not believe how children looked and taken care of even in the most lavish of homes. All the children would be told they would all sleep on the floor in the same room, while the parents would retreat to thier luxurious quarters. It was frieghtening. Even more frieghtening is that are own country is not on board with this global issue... but if it had to deal with guns we would the be the first to sign up. Go figure.
ReplyDeleteThank you for you info!
Cheneika, I enjoyed reading your post. I had the opportunity to wath the movie Unconditional this weekend and a little girl was in a similar situation. She had a tragic experience as a child and didn't want to talk at all. She carried around a pad and a pen in order to relay messages to those who she wanted to communicate with. By the end, she was of course talking and I believe it was in part because of the love a lady showed her throughout the course of the movie. The young girl may have felt safe and somehow knew that everything was going to be okay. Security is definitely important when it comes to children and their learning.
ReplyDelete