Playing, learning and growing: early childhood education in Cox’s Bazar
Above: Ahana and her mother Moushumi play at the Gender Transformative integrated Early Childhood Development (GTiECD) centre. Photo: Ahmad Ullah Al Azad/Plan
Moushumi Dutta* and her husband live with their two daughters and son in Teknaf Sadar Upazila, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Moushumi is the primary caregiver of her three children while her husband works as a high school teacher in Teknaf.
Moushumi had noticed that her youngest daughter, Ahana*, now four and a half, wasn’t reaching some of the development milestones for her age group. Ahana hadn’t been socialising with other children of the same age and didn’t like to play or share with her siblings, only wanting to the attention of Moushumi and her father. At home, Ahana was quiet and kept to herself, further delaying her language development. As a mother of three, Moushumi was worried that she couldn’t provide the adequate time and care needed for her daughter’s development.
In October 2022, Moushumi’s husband noticed a sign for a Shishu Bikash Kendra (SBK), an early childhood development centre, appear near their house. The centre is a part of Plan International’s multi-year early childhood education program funded by the Australian Government through the Australian Humanitarian Partnership (AHP) response in Bangladesh, with support from Plan International Bangladesh (PIB) and Friends in Village Development (FIVDB). Moushumi’s husband visited the centre and discovered its purpose as an educational space with a focus on early childhood development. Through the act of play, the children involved were learning rhymes, games, and social etiquette, developing their cognitive, social, and emotional skills.
Above: Ahana’s confidence and communication has improved after she began attending the Gender Transformative integrated Early Childhood Development (GTiECD) centre. Photo: Ahmad Ullah Al Azad/Plan
After learning about the SBK, Moushumi enrolled Ahana. At first, Ahana was too shy to leave her mother’s side and was not interested in spending time at the centre. However, Ahana eventually felt comfortable enough to talk and play with the other children. This was the necessary first step for Ahana to begin improving her communication skills, make friends and learn how to play and share.
Now, Ahana looks forward to coming to the centre every day.
“I love to come here because I found many colourful materials and all of my friends come here regularly,” she said.
After seeing Ahana’s progress and enthusiasm for the program, Moushumi and her husband decided to send their older son Abir* too. From January 2024, the program has since transformed into a Gender Transformative integrated Early Childhood Development (GTiECD) centre. Abir has taken part in the same activities as his sister and enjoys playing with building blocks and puzzles and interacting with other children.
“The environment and methods of engaging children with different tasks are very good,” Moushumi said.
“Ahana was shy at first when I brought her to the centre. Now, my two children regularly come to the centre and I don’t have to worry for them during this time because the facilitator is well trained and she engages the children with many different activities like rhymes, drawing, playing with puzzles, and communicating with every child.”
Both Ahana and Abir can identify birds, fish, vegetables alongside their pictures and colours. Their parents could not be happier.
Moushumi also joined monthly parent meetings where she learned positive parenting techniques to foster children’s development and the importance of treating children fairly, regardless of their gender.
“After attending the parents’ meeting I’ve learned about positive parenting and its impact on children’s holistic development. Now, I’m more cautious about if I have done some discrimination while talking with my children,” she said.
This activity was supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Humanitarian Partnership and implemented by the CARE-led consortium with Oxfam and Plan International.
*Names changed