• Community Project | Stage: On-going
• 3 months ago

The PET Project

The Play, Empower, Thrive (PET) Project is dedicated to enhancing and empowering childhood development through play-based learning at school and around homes with support from the children's caregivers, teachers and the Mind Embrace team to improve their motor, language, arithmetic, socioemotional and behavioural skills. This project also provides holistic mental health support to vulnerable children and their caregivers in Kibuku.

Project Overview:

This is a community-based project that focuses on addressing neurodevelopmental challenges among children, particularly those affected by trauma, poverty, and social challenges.  Recognizing the increasing need for mental health awareness and intervention, this initiative aims to create a safe space where young people can access psychological support, counselling, and life skills training to improve their overall well-being. Through a combination of play-based learning, caregiver empowerment, and community support, MEF seeks to enhance, promote, and empower children and their caregivers with mechanisms to improve learning as well as their economic wellbeing.

Key Details:

Childhood Development: Through the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centre established by the community members, this project envisions to foster early childhood development by integrating play-based learning into the education programmes provided by the ECD. Activities like field play, board games, and arts and crafts will be instrumental in child development.

Caregiver Empowerment: MEF trains caregivers in child play and provides them with vocational skills in arts & crafts, tailoring, home-based vegetable growing among others to empower them with income-generation to support the children.

Target Beneficiaries:

i)      Children 0-12 years. Early childhood populations are the major beneficiaries of this project. These include orphans, children with disabilities, children with neurodevelopmental challenges as well as normally developing/growing children from the rural community of Kibuku district.

ii)     Caregivers. The care providers of children include teenage parents (13-19 years), single parents, disabled parents and guardians of any age providing care to children. These include especially caregivers with low and/or no formal education or employment, lacking knowledge and skills on parenting, and are especially below the poverty line.

iii)    Community Leaders. These are the adults of any age that include the local council leaders, village health teams (VHTs) and opinion leaders like religious and cultural leaders in the community. Their involvement allows for greater enrolment, involvement, continuity and sustainability of the project.

Sustainable Impact: The project is designed to have a long-lasting impact. MEF seeks to create an environment where the children not only receive an education but are also equipped with the skills to overcome future challenges. This includes life skills, emotional resilience, and a sense of empowerment to improve their own lives and communities.

Monitoring and Evaluation: MEF regularly monitors the progress of the children and caregivers, tracking their academic performance, mental health status, and overall well-being. Feedback from children, parents, and schools is collected to continuously improve the project's effectiveness and ensure its sustainability.

Conclusion:

The "PET Project" project is a step toward ensuring that vulnerable children in Kibuku receive the psychological support, cognitive development, social support and life skilling as well as resources they need to lead healthier, more fulfilling lives. By prioritizing mental well-being, MEF is not only transforming individual lives but also building a more resilient and informed community.