Contextualizing Holistic Play-Based Early Learning and Child Protection Interventions for Rohingya Refugees in Cox’s Bazar

• In Event: Harnessing the intersections of child protection and education in emergencies for improved learning outcomes

Proposal

In emergency and humanitarian contexts like Cox’s Bazar, children are extremely vulnerable to abuse, violence, and trafficking. It is vital to provide these children – and their caregivers – psychosocial support, safe spaces, and playful early learning and stimulation opportunities to help address trauma, support their healthy development, and improve access to education. To address some of these challenges, BRAC designed a comprehensive ‘Humanitarian Play’ approach that adapts the play-based ECD model BRAC developed and honed in more stable communities in Bangladesh, to implement a contextualized model that addresses Rohingya children’s developmental needs, builds resilience and provides stability in the humanitarian setting. The Humanitarian Play model takes a multi-sectoral approach that incorporates play-based early learning opportunities, safe spaces, mental health for children and their caregivers, and protection to support children beyond the first response phase in this humanitarian context. BRAC is also conducting rigorous research on the Humanitarian Play model to assess the effectiveness of its holistic, play-based ECD model for refugee children in Cox’s Bazar, and to identify ways in which the model can be contextualized and adapted to other emergency settings. Preliminary findings suggest the holistic, play-based model is leading to improvements in the following areas: children’s social-emotional and cognitive development; additionally the study aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of the model on children’s self-regulation and playfulness; resilience; mental health, as well as maternal mental health and, caregivers’ perceptions of playful learning in an emergency context.

Author

• Devon McLorg, BRAC USA