Earlier in May, Rachel Lassman our Global Programme Co-ordinator was invited to attend and present at a shared learning event in Ethiopia hosted by Humanity and Inclusion’s (HI) Early Child Development and Rehabilitation teams. The event was attending by participants from 18 countries across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East; with countries sending a mix of therapists, HI programme managers and Ministry of Health representatives.
The theme of the week was “Optimizing Childhood Potential” exploring the role of rehabilitation in early childhood and the power of the early years and how do we ensure the 53 million children living with developmental disabilities and their families get the support and care they need to thrive?
The week was a mix of thought provoking key note speeches, discussions, workshops and networking. Covering a rich and diverse range of topics including: malnutrition, telerehabilitation, assistive technology, early identification and screening, play and feeding. Humanity and Inclusion teams presented their work from within their countries and shared implementation successes and challenges for everyone to learn from.
Baby Ubuntu presented in a panel discussion on working with families and hosted interactive workshops on the power of caregiver support groups and why lived experience and participatory approaches must sit at the heart of this type of intervention. Time was also spent discussing with in country teams opportunities to for Baby Ubuntu in expand into new contexts and geographies within HI’s programmes.
Here are some of Rachel’s reflections:
“It was inspiring to be in a space where every voice came from a place of deep commitment to children and families; across language, culture, and context. There was so much shared learning and I am excited about supporting HI grow the Baby Ubuntu programme in more of their country programmes.”
“I was hugely excited by Peter Rosenbaum’s talk, which as one of the most honest, playful, and provocative I’ve heard in a long time. It mirrored everything I believe about the value of lived experience and listening to parents.”
We are deeply grateful to HI for this opportunity to share Baby Ubuntu’s work.
