~South Asia...My Connection~

~South Asia...My International Connection~

The region I chose was South Asia. The reason I chose South Asia is with all the fighting going on in that region I wanted to know where they stood on implementing early childhood education.  Some of the challenges this region faces are support young children, their families and communities, in all the areas where the child is growing physically, emotionally, socially and intellectually. The funding for the early childhood education is another problem this region faces. Expanding quality early childhood education, particularly to the most marginalized, therefore could help promote equity and inclusion in education and society in general. There are over forty-two million children that are not going children that are going to school the education are unsatisfactory.  Children are not receiving proper medical treatment that is needed like immunizations against polio and measles. There are many that do not get the proper nourishment they need and are malnourished.

The first eight years of a child’s life is a critical period when incredible growth and development occur. Exposure to a quality early childhood education is crucial because it helps with tremendous brain development that lays the foundation for latter learning. The growing evidence that children who have participated in high quality early childhood education programs exhibit considerable gains in social, educational, health and intellectual spheres than those who have not participated (UNICEF, 2012).

South Asia is home to more than a third of the world’s children who lack a basic education.  As an early childhood professional I think South Asia is lacking in many areas for the children of that region to have a productive environment for them to be successful.  In reviewing the information from the website I think about how we stress to the families we serve about our children’s health. We stress that if the child is healthy they we be able and eager to learn. By taking a look at South Asia I am very thankful for the programs and services that are available for our children and their families to take advantage of in the United States. In the United States our children have the opportunity to receive free medical treatment and not be impaired by the childhood diseases they are faced with in other regions of the world. UNICEF is a great organization that tries to bring some of the same opportunities our children have in the United States to other regions of the world.