Achievements Archive

Sustainability in Childcare services

Despite being a small organization Phulki has made a big difference particularly by making its programs sustainable and changing the childcare policy of the public and private sector. Work based day care centres Many of the factory based child care facilities that Phulki has established are being successfully maintained with little or no involvement by Phulki. Factory owners themselves recognize the child care centres are increasing productivity and thus profits and therefore nurture the system. By ensuring that each child care centre works closely with both the managers of the factories and the mothers themselves Phulki has created a self-sustaining and common forum between employer and employee. Phulki’s success in establishing self-sustaining factory day care has been widely accredited. Government offices, the Banking sector and hospitals as well as other NGO’s have begun to include child care facilities within their work places following Phulki’s model. Phulki has thus taken on a wide consultancy role ensuring that middle managers stick to the principles of the Factory Act and their buyers.So far, upto 2016, Phulki has successfully implemented 97 Child Day Care Centers (both in factory base and in community).

Community based day care centres

Childcare in the community has given many children a brighter future. Those who would have previously been left to their own devises on the streets or at home have been given new hope. The opportunity to develop through modern methods such as early childhood care and development activities has ensured that many more children are admitted into primary school. In total 10,061 from Phulkis child care admitted to local primary school.

Training centres

Training is an essential part of the on-going services provided by Phulki. In sharing our expertise in establishing childcare centres Phulki is ensuring more women and children can benefit from our methods. Our training centres are the means by which Phulki’s work can continue to progress and expand in the future. The trainees receive their theory classes at the Phulki Training centre and have their practical training at different day-care centres and crèches. In entrusting and empowering local women with the latest methods in child development we are able to ensure a high quality of care in the future. The new non-formal skilled group trained by Phulki is able to sustain their own care facilities and spread the spark further.

Sustainability of the Child-to-Child approach

Innovative nature of the approach

The very nature of the Child-to-Child approach ensures it is sustainable and effective. Phulki selects a group of 10 girls and boys between 8-12 years of age from local slum communities. In taking these ‘child leaders’ through different activities they are taught about basic hygiene and other ways to make their environment safer. The teaching method ensures the children themselves arrive at the realization that they can and should achieve a healthier environment for themselves and their families. Active learning ensures the children have the conviction to pass the message on to their friends and family. This is of primary importance. Any obstacles that my arise such as refusing to change old practices are effectively dealt with by the children themselves through arranging meetings and further teaching forums. In Kallyanur pora slum for example trained child leaders have formed a children’s club for the purpose of continuing their involvement in the hygiene promotion program. The teacher and staff of the resource and Training centre maintain regular contact with these Child leaders to monitor their activities. In the Kallyanpur pora slum Phulki had, within the short period of three years, proved its effectiveness as a means of instigating behavioral change. By empowering the local child community to change their environment themselves Phulki ensures an intrinsic sustainability. The Child Leaders are made confident and knowledgeable. From this position of strength they have been able to spread light across their environments and with have a brighter future.

Training centres

The Child-to-Child training centres are designed for active group involvement. The children who are trained as child leaders are taught through asking questions and using games and activities. Each lesson is a process of contrasting traditional practice with modern hygiene knowledge. The children thus come to the conclusions about the correct hygiene and environmental practices by themselves. By the end of their 3 month training the children are well versed and confident in their mission to pass what they have learned onto their friends and family. They are able to fall back on their ‘sister’ – the local training coordinator but essentially after the completion of their training they are fit to change their community by themselves. Phulki has also established a 5 day course to teach those involved in child development the Child-to-Child method. The participants receive comprehensive training with which to incorporate the Child-to-Child approach into their own projects. The success of Child-to-Child has been widely recognized and in 1996 UNICEFF Bangladesh organized a workshop on Child-to-Child. Having highlighted the demand we in turn set up our own Child-to-Child workshop in 2001 giving others the opportunity to see the good work Phulki and these children have achieved already.