Publications and Resources
iACT uses our learning and experience to assist people affected by the refugee crisis and shape humanitarian policy and practice. Browse our publications and resources.
Mindful Learning: Early Childhood Care and Development for Refugee Children in Tanzania
This field note presents findings from an assessment conducted on the Little Ripples program, which was piloted with Burundian refugee children ages three to five in Tanzania…
Little Ripples Assessment 2019: Refugee camps Kounoungou and Mile, eastern Chad
This report provides an overview of iACT’s Little Ripples early childhood education program and the recent results from a one year assessment of the program in refugee camps Kounoungou and Mile in eastern Chad. The goal of the assessment was to provide iACT and its partner, Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), with concrete information about aspects of LR that are working, areas that need adjustment, and what additional learnings to distribute. This report has been prepared to provide an overview of assessment methodologies, key results, learnings, and next steps.
Integrating Mindfulness, an iACT program overview
To address and support the emotional health and well-being of refugee and displaced communities – and to help individuals learn how to cope with stress, build resilience, and restore hope – iACT integrates mindfulness training and curricula into each of our programs. Put simply, mindfulness is paying attention, on purpose and without judgment, in the present moment. The practice of mindfulness helps us to be aware of our thoughts, feelings, and sensations as they arise, and to notice what we are feeling and thinking, without judgment. Mindfulness develops life skills to help us respond and relate to what’s going on around us, with wisdom and compassion.
From little ripples to big waves: comprehensive early childhood programming for young refugee children
Levels of displacement are the highest on record: as of February 2019, 68.5 million people worldwide have been forcibly displaced, of whom 25.4 million hold refugee status – over half of them under the age of 18 (UNHCR, online). An estimated 87 million children under age 7 have spent their entire lives in conflict zones (Inter- agency Network for Education in Emergencies, 2018). Yet humanitarian funding for education – and, especially, early childhood programming – remains alarmingly low. iACT developed the Little Ripples programme to address the needs of young children affected by humanitarian emergencies and forgotten crises.
Little Ripples in Tanzania
While the influx of Burundian refugees into Tanzania slowed significantly in early 2018, a large school-age population (145,052) existed across the camps. Though a structured education system operated in the camps, a high number of refugee children (44%) remained out of school in early 2018. During this period, there was a critical lack of services and an accumulation of risk particularly for refugee children ages three to five. The number of child-friendly spaces and pre-primary classrooms across the camps was insufficient to accommodate all young learners and many learning spaces were located far from newer camp zones, making the walking distance too great for young children. Additionally, there was a lack of value placed on the importance of early childhood care and development (ECCD) by parents and caregivers, resulting in low registration and participation.
A Trauma-Informed Approach to Humanitarian Action
Over the last several decades, our understanding of trauma—how our body is impacted by trauma, and how we might provide people with resources and tools to bring themselves back into the present moment and live a fulfilling life—has substantially evolved.
Little Ripples: Community-based refugee-led preschool in Chad
Little Ripples not only delivers preschool in home-based settings in the community, but also employs refugee women to manage in-home preschools and improve the social-emotional, cognitive, and physical development of refugee children.
Early Childhood Development and Early Learning for Children in Crisis and Conflict
This background paper was commissioned as background information to assist in drafting the 2019 GEM Report, Migration, displacement, and education: Building bridges, not walls.
Migration, displacement & education: Building bridges, not walls
The 2019 GEM Report continues its assessment of progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) on education and its ten targets, as well as other related education targets in the SDG agenda.
Brief: ECD and Early Learning for Children in Crisis and Conflict
This background paper was commissioned as background information to assist in drafting the 2019 GEM Report, Migration, displacement, and education: Building bridges, not walls.