Help Children Left Behind in Mexico

Hi!

I would like share with you some of the results of our program “Help Children Left Behind in Mexico”. At the moment, 2,517 persons (657 adults and 1860 babies and children) have participated in our “I want to, I can” Child Development Centers in Hidalgo state. We have organized workshops for teachers, community promoters and parents and caretakers and the children have participated in different activities in the Child Development Centers and at school, depending on their age.

In December and January, we have been carrying out evaluations of our program. I´m glad to tell you that the evaluation of the babies and their parents have shown great results. We have been interviewing the parents and caretakers to get more information on the development of their babies, and in addition, we have realized different tests and observed the babies to corroborate the results. We have also compared the results with control group of children of the same age that do not participate in the program.

The evaluation shows that the babies that participate in the “I Want to, I can” Child Development Centers show higher levels of emotional, social and cognitive development and have better sleeping and nutrition habits than the babies that do not participate in the program. This means that the participant babies manage better their emotions, are less impulsive, irritable and aggressive and handle frustration better than the control group. They also communicate their needs better, cooperate more with other people, are more empathetic, smile more, play with their pairs and think more before acting.

In addition, all the babies that participate in the program show higher level of development than normal. At the same time, 72% of the babies in the control group show a deficient development level, which mean they are below the development level expected at their age.

All this shows that the program is really working. The early childhood development has an important impact in the later life. Giving these marginalized children a chance to get adequate stimulation, nutrition and care, together we can have a great positive impact on their future.

Thank you so much for your continuing interest and support for the children left behind in Hidalgo! Without people like you, we could not continue this important work!