NOTE: This activity took place before the COVID-19 outbreak.
The care a child receives in the years before they turn six is critical to their healthy physical, emotional and social growth. That’s why YWAM Mercy Vietnam helps communities equip schools, parents and community members with information on Early Childhood Development.
In one Ba Vi community, we did this through a Comprehensive Child Health Care Knowledge Contest .
The one-day competition brought four teams of ten people together, one from each of the areas served by a community preschool. Each team included children, parents, a teacher, school kitchen staff and a member of our local ECD training team.
Each group of children presented their team in a creative way like a song, drama or poetry reading. Then they competed in physical games as well as a test of their knowledge. The adults then had a competition about their understanding of the ECD messages we have been sharing in their community through various channels like public loudspeakers and community meetings. There was also a nutrition and cooking challenge.
Activities like this help to create a connection between the preschool teachers and the parents of the children, as well as with the local trainer team.
They also help the children to see the care the whole community has for them, and encourages them to be more confident.
A week before this contest was held, Tong Bat Preschool was recognized by the Hanoi Department of Education as having met the National Preschool standard. This especially recognizes the efforts of the school’s teachers and the contribution of the whole community to improve preschool education over the past 11 years. YWAM Mercy Vietnam is proud of our contribution to this achievement. Our wish is that in the coming years, we can continue to help preschools in other communities in order to see more confident and radiant smiles blooming on the lips of ‘’the future owners of the country’’.
