The pandemic proved challenging to parents the world-over. Households seemed like they shrank as many people created makeshift home offices for their remote work as well as dedicated study spaces for their children.
Yet for many parents in Kholowa Village, Katete District, Eastern Province, Zambia, their take-home pay diminished just as a local resource for families had to shut down out of concern over the pandemic. In other words, it was a particularly difficult year for most, if not all, parents, but particularly so in impoverished areas. Still, UNICEF and the LEGO Foundation, the organizations behind the community-based Insaka Early Childhood Development (ECD), pivoted just as adeptly as large for-profit organizations. The regular group parenting sessions have become a valuable resource in the area, facilitating things like sanitation, nutrition and playful parenting. In lieu of meeting at the hubs, volunteers dispersed throughout the communities at pre-established dates to meet with families and further teach playful parenting and responsive care “offering parents support and counseling while still maintaining physical distancing.” And the meetings could not have come at a more necessary time. “The pressures of the COVID-19 crisis have affected the mental health and well-being of parents and caregivers, sometimes straining their ability to engage in responsive and playful interactions with their young children, which are so important for building strong emotional bonds and healthy brains,” according to the Forbes article. At the hubs, parents learn about proper feeding practices, good nutrition, how to know when a child is unwell, and the importance of playful play for early brain development. For example, they learn that sensory-focused games are a good way to stimulate and engage the brains of babies. Faustina Phiri told Forbes that before the playful parenting classes, the children would be in the observer stage of development for much longer than they needed to be. “Because we as parents were too busy with other things,” she explained. “Taking time to play with the children seemed to be time-wasting.” Now, she and her husband know better. Volunteers visit the homes of participating families each month as they await the eventual reopening of their local hub, a place that also serves as a foundation for integrated community development, adult literacy, learning through play and promoting good nutrition to all ages. A silver lining of the pandemic, and notably one of the few, is that families have been able to spend more time together. Faustina’s husband Peter has utilized his extra freetime to procure local materials and make toy instruments for his daughters. The family are thankful for the community-based volunteers who help ensure they do not forget lessons they have been taught and that they continue to practice the lessons correctly. “As a volunteer, it brings me joy to see the great impact that the lessons have played in child growth and development in my community,” Kholowa hub volunteer Beatrice Banda told Forbes. Since the hub’s opening, nearly 600 volunteers have been trained, who have reached over 10,000 parents and caregivers with the important lessons. Comments are closed.
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AuthorDr. Angela Carol MD,CCFP,FCFP is a family physician focused on treating chronic illnesses. Archives
May 2022
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