THE Early Childhood Development Services Unit (ECDSU) under the Childcare and Protection Agency – Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, on Monday opened its first Early Childhood Development Conference, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.

Under the theme, ‘Elevating Early Childhood Development, Strengthening Standards, Enhancing Services, and Building Partnerships’, the conference brought together some 300 early childhood development practitioners with a goal of strengthening the collaborative commitment to care, protect and ensure the development of Guyana’s children.
It also aimed to offer participants a unique opportunity to listen, learn and collaborate, as policymakers continue to build systems that will give every child the best possible start in life.

During the conference, it was mentioned that a multi-sectoral early-childhood development policy will be launched in a matter of weeks, with national guidelines and a comprehensive implementation plan. It will be supported by the Government of Canada, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the global partner in developing early childhood development manuals for parents and caregivers that are centred on the principles of nurturing care, delivering training, and capacity building for licensing officers, childcare providers and parents and distributing relevant resources to childcare facilities to foster play-based learning and stimulation.

The Minister of Human Services and Social Security (MHSSS), Dr. Vindhya Persaud said this conference was born from a “burning need’’ to bring these practitioners into an environment where they can share ideas, develop solutions to challenges, and limitations they may face daily.
The minister revealed that in Guyana, there are around 1,003 trained early childhood development practitioners. She shared that these practitioners will become the nomenclature that people will become familiar with as it continues to expand.

She said it is vital for practitioners to refer to themselves as Early Childhood Development Practitioners, urging them to own, live and be that term.
The minister further said, “When we speak of early childhood development, we’re really speaking of zero to eight years, but this conference is different and unique because we are focusing on zero to three years, nine months. Why do I say zero? Because we’re focusing on the children too. So, before that baby comes into the world, we want to focus on the baby’s mother,”
She posited that a child’s environment in the womb is equally as important as when that child is born.
In addition, the minister mentioned that through the Women’s Innovation and Investment Network (WIIN), Early Childhood Development programme, 50 women have benefitted. Of that number, 17 women were able to open their own daycare centres.

The programme was created by the Childcare and Protection Agency, along with specialists from the University of Guyana.
The minister stated that they have not only trained these persons, but have empowered them financially, with grants to aid in their startup. She told the attendees that this is an option that is open to them.

According to Dr. Persaud, this is crucial because the ministry has embarked on a significant initiative called home-based care, allowing persons who provide care to children in a community in their homes, to have “Centres of Excellence.”

“As a country, I’ve always believed that we must never stop striving for excellence, and that kind of detail comes from within a person. Don’t stop,” she emphasised, adding, “Sign up for the WIIN programme levels one, two, and three, early childhood. We’re going to add special-needs education to that soon. So, you have a full lineup of training programmes that you can benefit from at no cost to you, but all I’m asking, see it says WIIN, Women’s Innovation Investment Network. Just as we invest, network, innovate, and as women and men too, let us cross the finish line by committing our time, committing ourselves to get into the pinnacle of early childhood development education.”
Also attending the conference were Early Childhood Development Specialist, Dr. Michelle Semple-McBean, Chief Fire Officer, Gregory Wickham, and Dr. Lidon Lashley.