Giving Compass' Take:

• Diana Chiu explains how OneSky's Early Learning Program is helping parents work and helping children get an education to improve the lives of families. 

• How can funders best identify and support effective programs that support whole families? 

• Learn about a program in Liberia supporting women and children through work and education. 

In 2017, OneSky opened its Early Learning Centre (ELC) in Da Nang, Vietnam. Located in the heart of the city’s factory zone, the centre was established to care for the children of rural migrants, from six months to six years old.

The ELC currently cares for 250 children, but already its influence is reaching thousands more.

For most low-salaried working parents in Vietnam, the best option for childcare has long been home-based daycare providers. Often overcrowded, under-resourced, with poor facilities and little training – horror-stories regularly appear in the Vietnamese media.

However, the pragmatic approach is not to replace this existing system but to improve the quality. In 2018, 80 home-based carers studied childcare and development with OneSky in Da Nang. Another 240 will follow from the surrounding area.

So far this has impacted the lives of 2,595 children. Now tens of thousands more will follow, as OneSky training is provided to home-based carers across another 19 provinces in Vietnam.

From the outset this pilot program has impressed. Why?

Because it has so many wins:

  • Children are safe, happy and learning.
  • Parents have peace of mind and more women can enter the workforce.
  • Factories increase output.
  • Vietnam’s economy grows.
  • The future – children grow into better-educated adults.

Meanwhile, the program’s ability to scale means it can reach Vietnam’s 300+ industrial zones.

Read the full article about the Early Learning Centre by Diana Chiu at AVPN.