Little Ripples
Refugee-led early childhood education
Little Ripples is an early childhood development program that empowers refugees and communities affected by humanitarian crises to implement child-centered, quality, and comprehensive pre-primary education that supports the social-emotional, cognitive, and physical development of children ages 3 to 5.
Little Ripples is designed to be refugee- and community-led in order to build long-term capacity and address the unique needs of children and communities affected by trauma, violence, and displacement. Refugees and community members learn about the Little Ripples curriculum and approach through an in-depth, participatory teacher training and adapt the curriculum and program activities to their culture and context. Program activities can be adapted to take place in schools, child-friendly spaces, community centers, and home compounds (referred to as Ponds). Additionally, when possible, the Little Ripples program also includes an accompanying meal program to ensure participating children receive much-needed nutrition support.
The Little Ripples curriculum was co-created with refugee communities and developed in collaboration with experts in early childhood development, trauma, pre-primary education, and mindfulness; ensuring that the program includes best-practices for refugee children and those who have experienced trauma and hardship. While the curriculum focuses on teaching literacy and numeracy and can be used alongside any academic pre-primary curriculum, it is grounded in play-based education, trauma-recovery approaches, restorative practices, and incorporates social-emotional learning, empathy development, positive behavior management, peacebuilding, and mindfulness.
Little Ripples develops a strong foundation of learning, interpersonal skills, empathy, and peace for children and teachers to recover from severe trauma and grow into happy, healthy, and contributing members of society.
Little Ripples teachers go through three teacher trainings. You can learn more about the training and the certification of completion here.
+
We work hand-in-hand with refugees to provide food, create jobs, build preschools and establish youth soccer academies in camps around the world. It’s for refugees, led by refugees.
Only with the help of generous supporters like you, alongside the UEFA Foundation For Children, will we be able to support 8,180 refugee boys and girls in this project.
CHAD (DARFUR CRISIS)
The Darfur genocide took place in 2003, killing an estimated 370,000 individuals and displacing more than 3 million. Today, nearly 340,00 Darfuri refugees are living in 12 camps in eastern Chad with limited access to critical services. Building on the need for programs in Chad that address trauma and promote education, health, peacebuilding, and social integration, iACT launched Little Ripples in Chad in 2013. iACT worked directly with Darfuri refugee communities there to develop the Little Ripples program and continues to work directly with these same communities to implement the program. iACT works in collaboration with its partner the Jesuit Refugee Service in Chad.
OUR
IMPACT
15 Ponds
currently operating in Chad
138
Darfuri refugee teachers trained
2,553
Darfuri refugee children reached so far
779
meals served to Little Ripples students in Chad per week
DARFUR CRISIS
FACTS
TANZANIA (BURUNDI CRISIS)
In April 2015, political violence and insecurity forced over 400,000 Burundians to flee to neighboring countries. Currently, 204,000 Burundian refugees are residing in three refugee camps in the Kigoma region of Tanzania. Many young Burundian refugee children are out of school and in need of quality early childhood care and development support. In partnership with Plan International Tanzania, iACT launched the Little Ripples program in the Nduta and Mtendeli refugee camps in western Tanzania to support these children and ensure they could exercise their right to education and healthy development.
OUR
IMPACT
Adeline lives in Nduta refugee camp with her husband and four children She is an ECCD teacher with Plan International Tanzania and participated in Little Ripples Teacher Training. “From the Little Ripples training, I was happy to get information on how to teach and take care of young children. Before I was working in primary school. Now I know the skills for young children and how to teacher with peace and through playing.”
2 Camps
where Little Ripples is being implemented
40
teachers trained
6,000+
2,283
children currently enrolled
Burundian CRISIS
FACTS
CAMEROON
In 2013, thousands of people were forced to flee the Central African Republic (CAR) due to an outbreak of violence, and ongoing conflict has forced many to remain in neighboring countries. Currently, there are over 250,000 refugees from CAR living in Eastern Cameroon. Basic needs such as: food, health, shelter, and water are all primary concerns for the refugee communities and access to other social, protective, and education services remain severely limited. In 2019, with our partner the Jesuit Refugee Service, iACT launched the Little Ripples program in 4 villages in eastern Cameroon
OUR
IMPACT
Hadija is a trained Little Ripples teacher and works in a preschool community-based center in a village in eastern Cameroon where refugees from the Central African Republic have been integrated with the local community. When Hadija became a community-based preschool teacher two years ago very few refugee children were attending, but she added that now, “Parents see the children of their neighbors and see how they were changing and growing because of preschool. And so parents become more willing. This year, before the school year, many refugee parents were looking for me and asking me when school would begin for their children.”
16
community-based pre-schools where Little Ripples is currently operating in Cameroon
41
Central African refugee and Cameroonian teachers trained
1,080
Central African refugee and Cameroonian children reached so far
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC CRISIS
FACTS
CAMEROON
NEWS & RESOURCES
BBC Newsnight's Jeremy Paxman outlines the background to the CAR crisis in two minutes
2019 Humanitarian Response Plan for the Central African Republic
Hundreds of thousands of people have found safe haven in Cameroon but have limited access to food, water and healthcare
GREECE
In refugee camp Katsikas, located outside of Ioannina, Greece, there are approximately 1,200 refugee community members. At least 200 of these refugees are women, and one third are children. Camp Katsikas is one of four refugee settlements in the Epirus region. It currently hosts a total of approximately 3,400 registered refugees in urban accommodations and three camps. The refugee community is diverse, with people from Iraq, Iran, Kurdistan, Afghanistan, Syria, Kuwait, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, among others. There are very few international NGOs left in the Epirus region. In August 2019, in partnership with Second Tree, iACT facilitated the co-creation of the Little Ripples program with residents of camp Katsikas and asylum seekers and refugees living urban accommodations in Ioannina. Today, 17 women are leading Little Ripples in camp Katsikas for up to 200 children in their community. At the start of the program, Mozhgan, an Iranian woman said, “Now, we have a purpose."
OUR
IMPACT
Sara is a Little Ripples trained community member living in Ioannina, Greece. She is from Kurdistan, an autonomous region of Iraq. Her hope is for her children to be educated, to speak many languages, get a good education, and study whatever they want for as long as they can. When we asked Sara what message she wanted to share with the world, it was simple: “For the world, I tell them to let there be peace, no violence, and no racism.”
34
Refugee community members trained
8
lead teacher manage the program
12
assistant teachers support the program
GREECE
FACTS
GREECE
NEWS & RESOURCES
Conditions in overcrowded, unsanitary camps on the Aegean Islands have turned into 'a struggle for survival.
The overcrowded Moria refugee camp in Greece is where Europe’s ideals—solidarity, human rights, a haven for victims of war and violence—dissolve in a tangle of bureaucracy, indifference, and lack of political will.
Inside the Forgotten Refugee Camp in Greece
TAKE
ACTION
Sustainer of Action
Help advance our mission to provide humanitarian action to aid, empower, and extend hope to those affected by mass atrocities.
Pathways for Peace Collaborative
Work to end identity-based violence, from dangerous speech to genocide, in the US and abroad.
Volunteer
iACT is always looking for people like you to join our community and contribute your skills.
RELATED NEWS
Supporting hope in the Central African Republic
By the afternoon, the consensus was encapsulated by what one humanitarian worker in Bangui told us, “This is CAR. It is always high risk.”
Discussing iACT with Fr. Vazken Movsesian
Fr. Vazken Movsesian, from In His Shoes, interviewed Katie-Jay and Gabriel about their shared journey as anti-genocide activists and about iACT’s work, from its inception to our recent trip to Armenia to work with communities affected by the 2020 war in Artsakh.
Revving Our Engines for CAR
We are excited to announce that iACT has secured initial funding for our team to return to the Central African Republic (CAR) this fall, for the first time since 2017.