The IRC seeks to help people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover and gain control of their future. In doing so developing effective education programs have been an essential part of the IRC’s response in supporting people affected by conflict. As a significant proportion of those affected by conflict are children, caregivers in crisis and conflict settings often lack regular opportunities to engage their children in developmentally appropriate play and early learning activities. Brain development from birth to age 3, develops faster than at any other time, forming up to one million new connections every second and by age 5, up to 90 percent of a child’s brain has already developed. It is critical to invest in early childhood interventions as it is proven to be one of the most effective strategies for improving the long-term economic, health, and social well-being of both individuals and their broader societies. With understanding the Nurturing Care Framework, which provides a roadmap on early childhood development (ECD), key components such as good health, adequate nutrition, responsive caregiving, security and safety, and opportunities for early learning are essential for ECD. Thus, through the various program models the IRC implements, an intersectional approach is taken to help meet the necessary key components for ECD. Through our child-facing and family-facing program models, we seek not only to teach literacy, art, math, exploration, and peace to children but to also build nurturing and caring relationships between caretaker and child, improve the socio-emotional and cognitive outcomes of children and to develop agency within children by entrusting them to learn in a way that suits them.

 

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