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Tien Giang Pilot Project 2002 - Flood-Proof Kindergartens / Emergency Child Care Centers

 

As a follow on from the activities in Tien Giang and Dong Thap in 2001, various parties had expressed interest in working more with the ECCCs that had been established.  In early 2002, the Tien Giang DOET contacted Save the Children with a request for funds for the construction of flood-proof ECCCs.  Save the Children was able to secure private funds from British Petroleum (BP), and the Tien Giang Pilot Project was born.

 

Building upon the Tien Giang DOET's proposal, the Emergency Working Group tried to formulate a plan that could link this emergency preparedness project with existing development priorities.  Given the fact that pre-school enrollment rates in Tien Giang (only 50%) are far below the national average, it was decided to create an integrated model whereby the structures would be designed to be used as kindergartens during normal times, and would be converted into ECCCs during the flood season. 

 

A key lesson learned from visits to ECCCs during the 2001 floods was that any new centers should be permanent and flood-resistant, so as to avoid having to house them in private households that may in the long term prove unsafe for children or unwilling to host childcare activities.  They should also be more child-friendly, providing for the particular developmental health and education needs of young children who typically will use these as ECCCs for a period of several months a year. 

 

The project also seemed timely as Tien Giang and other provinces had recently committed to investing in the ECCCs as a principal solution to the problem of child protection in times of flood.  Thus the establishment of a cost-effective, holistic model that would also improve the pre-school education system had the potential to serve as a quality model for potential replication.

 

The funding obtained, in addition to the contribution of the local communities, was enough to fund the construction and equipping of 5 centers.  In addition to contributing funds and labor, the local partners have pledged to ensure that the centers will be staffed by appropriately trained teachers.  Their salaries are paid by the local partners.  Save the Children staff and the DOET worked together to chose appropriate locations in the most flood-prone areas, which would be safe for children while still serving vulnerable populations.  Save the Children also cooperated with the DOET on the design of the structures.  Input and collaboration is also being pursued with the  ECD Working Group in order to effectively mobilize their technical expertise for the kindergarten component of the project.

 

Construction was completed and the centers were officially opened on October 1st, 2002, as the flood waters were already rising.  The provincial authorities praised the project as a model example of collaboration between INGOs and local communities, and have pledged to support the expansion of this model through the province.