Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

I am still trying to get a response, but had no luck. I feel as though I am missing out on a great opportunity talking to others who are in my field on a global market and finding out what they are doing to help young children.

  I had gone to the Harvard website where I had read about Global Children's Initiative. The center has built activities in early childhood education, mental health, and children in crisis and conflict situations. In the Early Childhood Development, the center wants to apply knowledge to address the topic of health and development needs for young children by doing the following things: "Assessing quality in early childhood environments and programs in diverse global contexts; Piloting assessments to measure child development outcomes linked to malaria control strategies in Zambia; and Expanding effective interventions to improve preschool quality in Chile" (Global Children's Initiative).

  The second thing I have read about was mental health and how it is a concern that has significant implications for the broaden health in society. The faculty at Harvard is writing an agenda for research, education, and public engagement. The project wants to launch the following provided there are sufficient funds: “•Assessing the state of child mental health services in China; Developing and evaluating family-based strategies to prevent mental health problems in children affected by HIV/AIDS in Rwanda; and Addressing child maltreatment and mental health outcomes in three Caribbean nations (Barbados, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname)” (Global Children’s Initiatives).

   The third thing I read about was Children in Crisis and conflict situations. The Global Children’s Initiative is working with Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at the Harvard School of Public Health to help with the research because both schools are more experienced. The common goal is to collaborate with the sciences to assess and manage the child’s well-being so they can focus on long-term adaptations. “Two issues are the initial focus of activity in this domain: Exploring comparable approaches to surveying child status in post-earthquake Haiti and Chile. Bringing the science of child development into strategies for addressing acute malnutrition” (Global Children’s Initiative).

    The center’s main mission is to have education and training programs in the fields of early childhood education, mental health and crisis and conflict situations. The center wants to build a sound infrastructure to support diverse global issues and they also want to provide leadership training for researchers, policy makers and institutions in the majority world.