THE PARENTING CHALLENGE Improving the knowledge, attitude and skills of mothers and fathers     by Roreen Mzembe | HELP A CHILD 4. FIRST RESULTS 3 2  1  Pilot areas Malawi Pilot area Uganda Source: WHO/UNICEF The Nurturing Care Framework  1. WHY PARENTS? NURTURING CARE 3. PILOT Comments WHERE | 3 locations: 1) Edingeni in Mzimba, Malawi 2) Zilakoma in Mzimba, Malawi 3) Cinya in Arua, Uganda WHEN | February till December 2017 PARTICIPANTS “I am now able to cook nutritious meals for my children.” x 33 “I now can support my child with education (by paying fees & scholastic materials, guiding and supporting.” x 62 “I understand my child better now.” x 39 “I feel my spouse and I are now working together in raising the children.” x 33 The Parenting Challenge relates to all five components of the Nurturing Care Framework: Direct impact Responsive Caregiving Security and Safety Adequate Nutrition Indirect impact Good Health Opportunities for Early Learning Parents (or caregivers) are the most essential key players in improving the wellbeing of children: they are there at the very start of a child’s life; they are internally motivated: parents want their child to be happy and healthy; they are the first responsible caretakers. In our project areas, parents face many challenges. That’s why Help a Child introduced The Parenting Challenge, a method to improve the knowledge, attitude and skills of parents.   108 52 TOTAL 160 5. NEXT STEPS EXPAND| copy the method to other areas and countries SPREAD| train key parents to start up new groups LEARN |do research for more in-depth understanding what does and does not work well 2. THE PARENTING CHALLENGE GOAL| Improving the parenting skills of mothers, fathers and other caretakers HOW | Practical parenting sessions BUILD UP | Basics Module (including Manual) and several thematic modules Help a Child is a Christian, international relief and development organization, founded in 1968 in the Netherlands. Help a Child provides a future for children in need, their family and their entire community. By empowering vulnerable communities we help them to change their own living conditions and opportunities in a sustainable way. “I have now stopped beating my children and I just talk to them anytime they have done something wrong.” Male participant Parenting Group, Edingeni “We used to send our children to school without washing or feeding them. Now we take good care of them.” Key Strengths Mothers ánd Fathers Member of ‘Chawaza’ Parenting Group, Malawi Participatory Bottom-up Group-Based Roreen Mzembe Help a Child Malawi e roreen.mzembe@hacmalawi.org p +265 886 052 482 w www.hacmalawi.org MORE INFOMATION helpachild.org/ecd-malawi Promoting internalization Increasing the effectiveness Strengthening social network Enhancing sustainability