It’s fascinating to watch children experiencing this world. Play is truly child’s work. Children in Lesotho create toys out of items considered rubbish in more developed regions. Devoid of prefabricated toys, the world of play fosters a mind-boggling amount of inventiveness. Balls are made of plastic bags or rubber bands; tires and rims are rolled along with sticks; intricate wire cars bump along the road. Items that the developed world would resign to the trash bin are transformed into toys in the most imaginative ways!Often we see older children out and about, playing in their villages, but rarely do we witness much play in the early childhood years. Yet that is the period when play is so vital for adequate child development.
In an effort to promote integrated early childhood development, TTL has been working with caregivers to encourage play and interaction beginning at birth. In addition to performing a monthly developmental assessment of each child, the Outreach team provides individualized counseling to caregivers based on the child’s age and abilities. Caregivers learn appropriate play to promote physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development.
Over the past few months, we have worked to create tools to assist caregivers as they help the children under their care grow. With the new TTL child development cards, comprised of both pictures and words in Sesotho, caregivers will have a clear and handy reference tool. The Outreach team looks forward to utilizing these cards to help caregivers foster the growth of our clients and other children in the household. Together we can work to help these children develop to their fullest potential.
The TTLF Fellow is a representative of the North American organisation The Tiny Lives Foundation. Based for one year in Mokhotlong, Lesotho, the TTLF Fellow serves in an administrative support capacity for the Basotho charity TTL.
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