The-Yinthway-Approach – PDF

Yinthway Foundation is a local NGO which originally began in 1999 with the name Network Early Childhood Resource Center (NECRC). Over the years, because there was so much demand for its services, this local group expanded and reorganized itself as a local non-government organization (LNGO), changing its name to Yinthway (which means “our beloved little children”) Foundation.

Due to the situation of young children and their developmental and educational needs in Myanmar, Yinthway began its initiatives with partners throughout Myanmar, especially those working in the most remote and most vulnerable communities.

In 1999/2000, NECRC began with three staff, which, by mid-2000 had increased to five, meeting in the apartment of the founder and international consultant, who had come to Myanmar in 1997, on a 2-year contract with World Concern, to train the trainers of faith-based organizations, from the ethnic minority areas. Altogether she had trained 51 trainers, but there were no training materials, learning/play materials, or children’s picture books in Myanmar for these trainers, or the preschool teachers, whom they trained, to use in their ECCD preschools. Also, the organizations, which these trainers worked for, could not cover the costs for the trainers to conduct a longer (1-month) and a more practical training of preschool teachers.

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Yinthway’s vision is that all of the young children of Myanmar, regardless of race, religion, or ethnicity, receive the care, nurture, and education they need to develop to their full potential.

Yinthway’s mission is to serve all those in Myanmar who are supporting the development of young children and, in the last two years, to support the primary school educational initiatives of those faith-based organizations working in the most vulnerable and remote communities of Myanmar.

In the urban areas, these are the Buddhist schools in monasteries and in convents, providing education for the children of the families that cannot afford to send their children to the government schools, and, in the remote, ethnic minority areas, these are the community-based schools supported by Christian organizations. The methodology used is the Child Centered Approach (CCA), which is the same approach, but for a different stage of development, as in the ECCD preschools.

The goal of Yinthway is to be a resource and a networking center for early childhood care, development and education (ECCDE) in Myanmar, providing quality services. Practically, this means:

1. Conducting an annual 6-day ECCDE conference to which all trainers – government, NGOs, and CBOs – are invited. In 2008 and 2009, 100 ECCDE trainers attended. This forum not only provides keynote speeches and a variety of workshops to increase the knowledge and skills of the participants, but also gives an opportunity for the various organizations to share their activities with each other, be introduced to new advocacy and training materials, and to have a chance to network with each other, thus building a strong community, with a common understanding of early childhood development and education, at all levels, in Myanmar. This annual conference has been described as: one of the most significant civil society gatherings in the country. Yinthway likely has the most diverse participation and one of the most significant national impacts of all national NGOs.
2. Developing the capacity of the trainers of local partners who are either already implementing or who plan to implement these initiatives in their own communities, rather than Yinthway directly implementing activities in communities. Presently there are approximately 90 ECCD trainers, who have either been directly trained by Yinthway staff, or through on-the-job training with these senior trainers, and 8 CCA trainers, who have been trained through a combination of a TOT conducted by a UNICEF consultant plus on-the-job training with Yinthway staff. Yinthway has been, and plans to continue, supporting the training materials and a percentage of the training costs of .the trainings which these trainers conduct for their organizations. These local partners are working in communities in all of the states and divisions of Myanmar.
3. Providing two Sales Sections – one in the Yangon office and one in the Mandalay office, where children’s picture books, advocacy and training materials, including posters, videos, training documents, etc., and children’s play/learning materials, developed for sale by five cottage industries, such as the Zion Disabled Women’s Center. These cottage industries have received technical and some material support from Yinthway over the years.

Yinthway’s Partners

Yinthway would like to thank the following organizations for their support and assistance in the development and implementation of our training programs as well as for setting up many community supported schools around the country:

• DSW
• DEPT, DBE (1), DBE (2), DBE (3)
• UNICEF: Unite for Children
• Swiss Aid: One of Switzerland’s leading aid organisations
• SC in Myanmar
• World Vision
• KMSS
• Metta Foundation
• Other local NGOs
• Various Faith-based organizations