WEAVE continues to mobilize its resources in Mae Hong Son to further improve the Early Childhood, Care, and Development (ECCD) for displaced ethnic minority children from Burma.  A series of summer training sessions, workshops, and meetings were conducted in both Karenni Site 1 and 2 in Mae Hong Son Province during the entire month of March.  The education and training activities were headed by the ECCD project team.

Part of the ECCD project’s mandate is to build capacity through knowledge and skills enhancement of Capacity Building Trainers (CBT) otherwise known as the Parent Educators.  They provide support to the nursery schools by complementing the work of teachers in providing assistance to children’s parents on various skills and knowledge on child rearing practices.  Rollie Verzosa, WEAVE’s Education and Training Coordinator, is supported by other WEAVE trainers in the implementation of capacity building sessions with its local partners, the women’s organizations on the Thai-Burma border. In early March, Rollie Versoza conducted the Milestones on Early Childhood Development and Psychosocial training in Mae Hong Son, Thailand.

From March 15-19, a series of meetings were  held to discuss plans on how to increase the involvement of parents in the Nursery School Projects.  It was agreed to further study the feasibility of integrating community development projects in the ECCD work.  The Nursery School representatives from Karenni Camp 2, including the camp coordinator, CBTs and teacher trainers were all in attendance at this meeting.  A Teacher Training session also took place.

WEAVE benefited so much from the support of kind-hearted volunteers sending organizations such as the Australian Business Volunteer  (ABV).  In the last two years, WEAVE has been a recipient to an ABV to provide capacity building to WEAVE ECCD Trainers on Inclusive Education (IE).  In March 16, an ABV consultant visited WEAVE to conduct an evaluation to assess the impact of this intervention.

These are a few of the many intensive efforts by WEAVE to continue its advocacy for the development of children’s safety and well – being.  The enhancement of the ECCD project is one of the most important pillars of empowering marginalized communities.  By committing this much attention to a child’s primary stages, it aids the physical, mental, and emotional development of the child to grow healthy and strong.  WEAVE also devotes its attention to ECCD’s other activities including other child-rearing efforts.  Moreover activities such as the encouragement of play, children’s social interaction with other children in class, as well as with their parents through family day celebrations, toy distribution, and supplementary feeding are part of the regularly implemented activities that focus on early childhood development.