Enhancing responsive caregiving practices of Mongolian parents.
The problem: Young children living in the peripheral ger districts of Ulaanbaatar lack access to affordable childcare services and don’t have opportunities to play and learn due to crammed living spaces, poverty, and lack of safe public playgrounds. Lack of knowledge among parents and caregivers on how to advance their children’s development and lack of parenting training programmes further exacerbate the problem. All these limitations cause young children to miss out on childhood and also on the learning experiences that can advance their social, emotional, and gross motor development.
Our intervention (2020 – Ongoing): Lorinet Foundation supports OneSky‘s ‘Building Better Futures’ pilot that was conceptualised to generate a double dividend on our investment: quality care for children and employment for local mothers. The pilot aims to create a scalable and sustainable model to improve the outcomes of young children and their families living in ger districts. It also tests whether a cooperative childcare model is a feasible solution for families in ger communities.
The intervention:
- Provides parenting training on the importance of brain development in the early years and evidence-based responsive caregiving practices that advance the development of young children.
- Fosters community engagement to create a nurturing network of support for families at-risk.
- Enables access to safe play spaces to provide children an opportunity to learn and play.
- Offers apprenticeship and employment opportunities for parent graduates.
Results (As of Dec 2022):
- OneSky established the Family Centre in the ger areas of the Bayanzurkh district of Ulaanbaatar
- The programme trained 859 parents and caregivers and benefited 1,959 children from safe, nurturing early learning environments at home
- Formed partnerships with 12 public kindergartens and non-government organisations to extend the outreach of its training
- Tested parent-led ‘Cooperative Play Care’ groups with trainee parents, providing insights for the feasibility of establishing cooperative childcare services.
- UNICEF Mongolia invited OneSky to run its parental training in a model ECD centre initiated in partnership with the local govt., which is run by the district governor’s office.
Highlight: OneSky was invited by the Ministry of Education and Science to support the development of a national programme on promoting ECD with a focus on families and parents. Having on the ground insights, OneSky was also invited by Ministry of Labour and Social Protection for policy consultations on revising national childcare standards.