Design with Purpose for the Early Years
By Danielle de la Fuente
On a trip to Chios, Greece in the middle of summer, I witnessed a shocking disconnect between the humanitarian sector and the people it seeks to serve. Amidst scorching heat, it was baffling to see that an organization would be handing out blankets. Perhaps the blankets would be useful once the season changed, but as a new organization on its first ever reconnaissance trip, it was a puzzling and disconcerting situation. Had no one properly assessed the needs of the beneficiaries and local community or understood the cultural context and settings where these blankets would be distributed? While the intention was most certainly good, the design and its implementation appeared to be misguided.
In humanitarian contexts, especially emergency situations, the design process is crucial. The margin of error is a thin line from doing good to doing harm. You might think that’s a silly notion when talking about blankets, but what happens when we shift the subject to children who have survived some of the most unimaginable horrors of conflict, inexplicable trauma caused by displacement, continuous toxic stress that leaves their nervous system in a constant state of flight or fright mode, sexual abuse, and the type of grief that is unbeknownst to many. Assuming the needs of children that have survived extensive trauma can potentially do a great deal of harm.
The early years are critical in establishing children’s psychosocial and cognitive development, emotional intelligence, and understanding of cultural norms and identity. The environment, along with the initial bond formed with the caregiver, strongly influence long-term development across multiple domains. Increasing evidence shows that the manner in which children are raised affects their propensity for conflict and nonviolence. Therefore, stability in the home, community, and learning environments are among the most important factors in early childhood development. But what happens when young children are uprooted during this critical formation period and find themselves in a continuous state of toxic stress?
Several physiological and psychological factors need to be addressed before a child can heal and truly engage in the learning process. Psychosocial support is key to bridging this learning gap that displaced and out of school children face. Introducing this support in the form of social emotional learning, allows children to build the resilience needed to thrive. It is through the developmentally essential and appropriate act of play that children learn the foundations for peace. Play provides children with the opportunity to safely explore and interact with their environment, gaining a greater understanding of their relation to the outside world. They come to understand diversity, as they encounter children from different backgrounds. In this sense, play instills within children the social and emotional competencies needed to succeed.
Unfortunately, there remains a massive gap in programs geared towards the youngest minds. While traditional educational models focus on academic performance and quantifiable outcomes largely for primary aged children, the early years are often overlooked.
Take for example the COVID pandemic and its disruption of education. Parents, grandparents, and older brothers and sisters were forced to assume the role of full time caregivers and teachers. Yet, their own wellbeing was also at risk with the great anxiety the pandemic fomented. Social emotional competencies became even more critical, but providing our children and their caregivers with the emotional support they needed, was an afterthought. The world today demands so much from our children. We need to teach them the skills necessary for the 21st century - such as communication, confidence, creativity, and empathy. Innovations in technological pedagogy can most certainly facilitate and enhance this type of learning, but it cannot replace the social and relational aspects key to early childhood development.
When designing programs for education in emergencies, it is necessary to understand what is happening on the ground. What is the cultural context, political situation, and local norms? What do our beneficiaries actually need? Do girls have the same opportunities as boys? What about children with disabilities, both physical and mental barriers to learning?
Our work at the Amal Alliance is deeply aligned to the concept of human centered design, an approach to innovation that starts by listening to people and ends with solutions tailored to meet their needs. Thus, every program begins with matching the needs to a map of what our programming aims to resolve. Carefully dissecting the user experience sheds light on flaws that could present difficulties during implementation. Role playing various scenarios can help streamline delivery and identify what games and activities work well with social distancing in mind. But gaining insight into the lived experiences of the communities you serve, ultimately becomes the experiential blueprint and backbone of the project. It is in assessing the baseline of the caregivers’ social and emotional understanding that a clear pathway to implementation can be drawn.
The stakes are high in humanitarian contexts. As actors designing programs that will impact the lives of others, it is our duty to be intentional, purposeful, and ensure we do no harm.
Danielle de la Fuente is a member of the Karanga Steering Committee and CEO of the Amal Alliance, a 501(c)(3), international NGO that empowers displaced and disenfranchised children through education and social development programs. To learn more about its programs Colors of Kindness and the Rainbow of Education for the early years visit https://www.amalalliance.org/programs.