Podcast Alternative

Maysoun Shehab is the Regional Early Childhood Care and Development Programming Coordinator at the Arab Resource Collective (ARC) in Beirut, Lebanon. She is the director of the early childhood education program and works with many ECE professionals. She also raises awareness about early childhood education, and trains caregivers on best practices. The Arab Resource Collective functions in many different countries. In July 2006, she was involved in a psychosocial project in war torn Lebanon. The war was devastating, and totally destroyed 126 primary schools. Families and children needed much help. ARC provided psychosocial training to parents and caregivers on the effects of the war on children. They realized that adults needed to be supported so they could. In turn, support children. Coping techniques and strategies were taught to many adults.

Sharing Insights on Poverty

Eastern Mongolia

1. Many children do not receive an education until they are between 11 and 15 years of age.

2. All children help with chores. They help with household responsibilities and also at harvest time.

3. Some of the children keep their money and buy clothes or sweets for their siblings the older boys play with their money as they spend it on gambling on card games and billiards.

4. Some of the children start school then have to drop out. Some stay out, others reenter.

Many of the children have to work very hard for their households. They do things like collect firewood and dung, fetch water flowers clean the house and wash the dishes. It is very difficult for the children to go to school. They don’t have electricity and have to work by candlelight. They do not have concrete roads to travel on. Here in the United States we take so much for granted. We are so blessed and so very fortunate. We have too much of what we want, and have so much more than what we need.

Expanding Resources

Since I and many of my fellow students seemed to be having trouble establishing contact with people in the ECE field from other countries, I am taking the alternative route but am not giving up! I have contacted some of my local colleagues who are going to give me the names of people they know outside of the United States.

Since I am already a member of NAEYC and also worked for Head Start for six and one half years, I decided to choose an organization I am not familiar with. I have subscribed to the Children's Defense Fund newsletter.

Sharing Web Resources

I chose the Children's Defense Fund. The following is on their web page:

"Get Email AlertsEnter your information to get updates and alerts from CDF. Get ConnectedCDF Signatures
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printtext size -text size +CDF Monthly eNewsletterssubscribeSign up today to receive the CDF Monthly eNewsletter.The CDF Monthly eNewsletter provides an update on CDF's efforts to be a voice for children, issues affecting America's children and how you can take action on those issues." I also subscribed to their Youtube site.

I realized how important it is to stay informed about Early Care and Education issues on the state level as well as the national. The stories from the children's own mouths are very inspirational also.

I think the key words in all that we do and as described above are "take action." Nothing is ever accomplished if we sit and wait for others to do it.

Getting to Know You.... or Not

Getting to Know You.... or Not

Dearest Bloggers,

Since I did not contact anyone as of this moment, I went to the website www.childhoodpoverty.org and read about Laxmi, a sixteen-year-old girl from the Tonk district of India. I was startled to find that all though she has not been "sent-off" yet, she was married at the age of ten. Her family is waiting for her husband to be able to support her. In the mean time, she bicycles to the next village to go to school. Her parents are considered progressive because they support her education. She has made it to class X when other girls from her village at best complete number V.

I am reminded how blessed we are to be Americans. We complain when our children have to walk to the stop sign to catch the bus when this child bikes to the next village. Her parents are considered well-off because they own goats and are able to have a small harvest. We are well-off if we own a $300,000 home and two cars in the driveway. Laxmi's parents did not even buy her the bicycle. The Indian government gave it to her for earning high marks at school. It really makes one think about one's own life and what we take for granted.

At www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/radio.php I was able to listen to Irma Allen from the Swaziland Environmental Authority which is like the EPA in the U.S. It was so interesting to think about having nature as one's classroom every day! No building! We strive every day to bring nature to our rooms and these children have nature as there classroom where the importance of it is stressed in everything they do. They have the natural landscape as their personal science lab. The trees, grass, water, dew, and insects inspire in their students the love of land and of their native country.