Connections:

Children Under Seven

The Story

Throughout the world, there is a growing recognition of the importance of Early Childhood Development to a developing nation’s health and social welfare.

In 2004, WGC began collaborating with the Mongu, Zambia community to address the needs of young children affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which has left 1,000,000 orphans and vulnerable children. WGC co-sponsored a national Children Under Seven conference in 2005 with Catholic Relief Services, Zambia. Read 2005 Children Under Seven Conference Report (pdf).

Since then, WGC’sannual teacher training workshops have culminated in the Teacher Training Institute (TTI), 4 week-long sessions for pre-school teachers, followed by on-line mentoring. WGC is partnering with the local community to plan and implement model pre-school programs which meet the developmental needs of children and offer their parents and caregivers important information on health and HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment. It requires $10,000USD to implement each of these pre-school programs. Continuous development of pre-school teachers is vital to address the needs of Orphans and Vulnerable Children in a manner that is rooted in their local village or community.

Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Mongu, Zambia

Since 2004 WGC has collaborated with the Mongu community to address the needs of young children affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.  WGC has hosted teacher training workshops on early childhood development and grief and loss counseling.
WGC’s endeavors seek to increase the capacities of communities and families by providing support and care for orphans and vulnerable children, and by mitigating against the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic through psychosocial programs, spiritual support, education, food, shelter, clothing and health.

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