Vision For Juniors has Preschool program which provides early childhood education and care for children. This has provided access to development for a range of skills that make them ready to learn when they start school. These include Social skills which provide children with the ability to empathize and interact successfully with their peer group, and also relate easily to adults. According to Professor Nonie Lesaux from Harvard University, Early childhood development is considered to be sensitive period where students develop important neural pathways and architecture. “In a system that aims to build human capital, we would do well to invest in the early years,” Vision For Juniors is investing in this sector.

In this rapidly developing world, there is increased sources of stress that have a big impact on childhood development, and yet in Uganda the preschool sector has been left to the hands of the private sector whose ambitions have been commercialized with little or no attention to mitigation measures to stress among children. Therefore VFJ has focused to build the capacity of communities to reduce the sources of stress that could have a big impact on childhood development. Effective skills development to caretakers and ECE educators aims to create learning environments that reduce behavioral challenges; and focus on interactions and processes that create confident children.

VFJ Is Working To Achieve This Through:

• Sharing knowledge about childhood development with parents, caretakers and proprietors.
• Partner with institutions and individuals to generate research around adult competencies, the ECE learning environment, and early stress.
• Awareness raising for nutrition improvement.