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.
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
CAR Refugees Sing for Peace at Camp in Cameroon
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
REFUGEE STAFF
PROFILES
Remy
Remy has been an ECCD teacher for 2 years and specifically a Little Ripples teacher for 1.5 years. He arrived in Nduta in 2016 with his elder brother.
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Cebestin
Cebestin has been an ECCD teacher for 2 years and specifically a Little Ripples teacher for 1.5 years. He arrived in Nduta in 2015 alone and his mother and 8 siblings joined him later.
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Jean-Claude
Jean-Claude has been an ECCD teacher for 2 years and specifically a Little Ripples teacher for 1.5 years.
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Vénérand
Vénérand has been a Little Ripples teacher for 6 months. He arrived in Nduta in 2016 alone, but reunited with his mother and 6 siblings who had previously arrived in 2015.
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Nestor
Nestor has been an ECCD teacher for 2 years and specifically a Little Ripples teacher for 1.5 years. He arrived in Nduta in 2015.
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Diomède
Diomède has been a Little Ripples teacher for 1 year. He arrived in Nduta in 2015 alone and his mother joined him later.
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Djimil
Djimil has been an ECCD teacher for 2 years and specifically a Little Ripples teacher for 1.5 years. He arrived in Nduta in 2017 with his wife and child.
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Adeline
Adeline has been an ECCD teacher for 2.5 years and specifically a Little Ripples teacher for 1.5 years. Her previous husband was killed in the violent conflict in Burundi and she arrived in Nduta in 2016 with her 4 children.
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Jeane
Jeane has been working as an ECCD teacher for 2.5 years and specifically a Little Ripples teacher for 1.5 years.
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Goodeberth
Goodeberth has been an ECCD teacher for 3 years, but only recently started working as a Little Ripples teacher.
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Peline
Peline has been an ECCD teacher for 2 years and specifically a Little Ripples teacher for 1.5 years.
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Innocent
Innocent has been a Little Ripples teacher for 3 months as part of the mobile unit, traveling to different camp zones to deliver the Little Ripples program to children who live far away from the child-friendly spaces where the other Little Ripples activities take place.
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Virginie
Virginie has been an ECCD teacher for 3 years and specifically a Little Ripples teacher for 1.5 years.
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Ernest
Ernest has been a Little Ripples teacher for 4 months. He arrived in Nduta in 2015 alone and has a secondary school education.
Read More Nathanael
Nathanael is currently a Little Ripples teacher and is the Coordinator of all other Little Ripples teachers in the Nduta camp. He arrived in Nduta in 2016 alone.
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Hilaire
Hilaire got married in 2013 and arrived with his wife in Tanzania in 2015 where they spent 1 year in the Nyarugusu refugee camp before eventually transitioning to the Mtendeli camp.
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Pascal
Pascal arrived alone in Tanzania in 2015 where he spent 1 year. While there he was reunited with his parents who had arrived a few months before him. He also met his wife in Nyarugusu and they got married in 2015.
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Beatrice
Beatrice arrived in Tanzania in 2015 where she spent 2 years in the Nyarugusu refugee camp. She was eventually transferred to the Mtendeli camp in 2018 where she met her husband and got married in the same year. She completed secondary school and is a trained teacher.
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Anita
Anita arrived to the Mtnedeli refugee camp alone in 2016. There, she met her husband and got married in 2017. She dropped out of secondary school in Grade 10 because her family was no longer able to afford her school fees. If she receives the opportunity, she would like to finish secondary school someday.
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Deo
Deo arrived alone to the Mtendeli refugee camp in 2016. There, he met his wife and got married in 2017. He has a secondary school education.
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Denise
Denise arrived to Mtendeli alone in 2016. She met her husband there and got married in 2017. She dropped out of secondary school in Grade 11 due to her first pregnancy. If she receives the opportunity, she would like to finish secondary school someday.
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Leubain
Leubain married his wife in Burundi in 2015. They arrived together to Mtendeli in 2016. Leubain finished secondary school and is a trained teacher.
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Diane
Diana arrived to Mtendeli in 2016 with her mother and 2 younger siblings. She dropped out of secondary school in Grade 11 because her mother was no longer able to afford her school fees. If she receives the opportunity, she would like to finish secondary school someday.
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Diane
Diana married her husband in 2015 in Burundi before traveling to Tanzania with her husband and arriving in Mtendeli in 2016. She dropped out of secondary school in Grade 12 due to her first pregnancy. If she receives the opportunity, she would like to finish secondary school someday.
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Renovat
Renovat arrived alone in Tanzania in late 2015, where he spent the first 6 months in the Nyarugusu refugee camp. He eventually was moved to the Mtendeli refugee camp, where he met his wife and got married in 2016. Re?novat has a secondary school education.
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Enoch
Enoch arrived alone in Tanzania in late 2015, where he spent the first 8 months in the Nyarugusu refugee camp. He eventually was moved to the Mtendeli refugee camp, where he met his wife and got married in 2017. Enoch has a secondary school education.
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Shadrack
Shadrack arrived alone in Tanzania in late 2015, where he spent the first 3 months in the Nyarugusu refugee camp. There, he met his wife and got married. In 2016, they were moved to the Mtendeli refugee camp. Shadrack finished secondary school and is a trained teacher.
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Edyssa
Edyssa arrived in Tanzania alone in 2015 and spend the first year in the Nyarugusu refugee camp. She was eventually transferred to Mtendeli where she met her husband and got married in 2017. She has completed secondary school.
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Audrey
Audrey arrived to the Mtendeli refugee camp with her Uncle in 2016. There she met her husband and got married in 2017. She finished secondary school and is a trained teacher.
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iACT is Hiring!
JOIN OUR TEAM: Education Programs Manager
Call for Black and/or African Illustrator for iACT’s Early Education Programs
iACT is currently seeking an Illustrator to assist with illustrating, digitizing and constructing a children’s book for the Little Ripples and Global Citizens Early Childhood Education Programs.