Podcasts
This has been a very hard and trying assignment, this is my
forth class working on this blog and I have never had this much difficulties
with completing an assignment, but I have not given up. Because I had several
problems with trying to complete this assignment using the first option, I
finally gave up and went to this site http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/radio.php
to listen to some podcasts on issues around the world and early childhood. I
first listened to Episode 3: Delfena Mitchell discuss issues about children
that have been abandoned, abused, and have disabilities including HIV/AIDS. The
center has been open for about 8 years and is mainly for children birth to about
5. Mitchell discussed in the podcast a boy who did not speak for the first year
he was here and also was having difficulties with schooling. Mitchell stated
that he has made progress since he opened up and continues to talk about the
abuse he and his siblings suffered before going to the center.
Another podcast I listened to was Episode 1: Barnabas Otaala.
Otaala discussed the problems of HIV in early childhood and the need for
partnerships between parents, doctors and the villages that they live in. Otaala
stated that teachers and parents need to communicate about the children and
work together so that the young children are able to receive the help they need
and the support they need to become succeful.
Extra link
I also went to this site http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/
and clicked on the Chip International Activities to find what I could for
poverty outside the US. I was reading about poverty in India and found three
insights that caught my attention, they include:
1. Many
children do not finish school because of poverty and ill health
2. Some
young girls are married at the age of 10
3. Young
boys will take jobs at young ages to help support their family even doing
something like selling ice cream.
Although we have
poverty issues here in the US, it was hard to read about the problems in other
countries, I cannot fathom having one of my children married at 10, or even
taking a job to help support the family. It was hard to read about the problems
in India and I only read a few from the list. Other information that I found
from the site include:
A 1% reduction in world military spending
could provide primary schooling to all the world's children. A 10% reduction
could eliminate illiteracy completely for a decade. If 0.5% of world military
spending were diverted to immunisation, all children could be vaccinated
against preventable diseases for the next 10 years (UNICEF, 2004)
40 % of children in developing countries
suffer from malnutrition. At current rates of improvement, 1 billion children's
mental development will be affected by malnutrition by 2020 (UN James
Commission).
Insights
After listening to the podcasts and viewing the link to
CHIP, I have discovered a few new things related to poverty and young children
around the world. Although the US also has its own issues with poverty and
early childhood, the world around us is also struggling with poverty and from
what I have found the circumstances seem to be on a larger scale with children
not even being in school past the age of 10 in many cases. Children are working
to help support their families, young girls are married around this age and
having families of their own to have to support and feed. The cycle of poverty
at this rate will only grow and continue to worsen. Children in many of these
countries are also dealing with natural disasters and the countries do not have
to means to step in help like we do here in the US with are programs such as
Red Cross and FEMA. It was insightful to learn about the differences and how
even though poverty still exists here in the US there are programs to help
unlike many countries who do not have the means.
