Children and their families are feeling the benefits.

November 2011: From toddlers to teens, mothers to managers, every person in Shaanxi province involved with 14 recently established community child centres has benefited as an individual, and China as a nation is one step closer to meeting the Millennium Development Goals* and fulfilling the rights of its children.

The centres are the brainchild of Plan China, which opened them at the end of 2010 with support from its partner, the Shaanxi Provincial Women’s Federation.

The goal is to meet a documented gap in the status of rural children, who, as Plan China Director Mark Leighton remarks, have not fully participated in China’s “revolutionary progress” in child nutrition and education.

Bridging the gap

Since the launch of the Community Child Centre Project, Plan China has conducted more than 230 activities, reaching 38% of the total population and 100% of the population under 3 in its target areas. Altogether more than 13,000 villagers have participated.

The activities offered are diverse: Through lectures, films, parent-child interactions and other means, the centres ensure children under 3 get micronutrient-rich supplements and older children get a place to play sports and games, make friendsand read books.

Parents learn how to feed their children properly and provide them with a stimulating, safe, hygienic environment while centre staff are trained in management and operational techniques. Technical support is provided by local educational and health facilities.

Agents of change

A DVD of parent-child games and a manual for caregivers have successfully inspired parents to change their traditional ways of child-rearing.

The transformations being seen are radical: Very young children are now better nourished, healthier and living in more child-friendly environments.

Once-shy mothers are now more active than their husbands in activities at the centres and the walls in the centres are covered with children’s artwork made from recycled materials.

Enthusiasm for the project is great. Not only has participation at each centre expanded exponentially along with overall confidence, awareness and skill, but the project has been the subject of lots of praise.

The sentiments of 15-year-old girl Qianqian are typical: “I can read books I like and play games with others... My classmates all think that I laugh more... and that I’ve become more free."

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