Three children prepare to enter primary school in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Early Life - Kibera Kids
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
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Slumdog Millionaire, City of God...you could make a box office hit from the lives of kids in Kibera, the biggest slum in sub Saharan Africa. Even before they go to school here, children must run the gauntlet of Kibera's crazy and even violent street life.
Scientists warn that stress can raise levels of the hormone cortisol, permanently altering the architecture of young brains. But while stress can be a problem, so can too little stimulation - as scientists discover how important interaction is for childhood development. Experts disagree how critical the first five years are and whether more funding should be diverted to early childhood development. But many of those who set the agenda for global development now regard early childhood as a key priority.
The adults of Kibera are working hard to offer kids a safe and stimulating haven in pre-schools. Pre-school is a safe space for the kids, somewhere they can develop peacefully and-in theory-become less violent adults. But many parents can't afford the ten dollars a month in fees.
For parents and teachers of children like Nasuru, Brian and Patience in this episode of Early Life, pre-school also brings dilemmas. Should it reflect traditional African social values, or the West's more individualistic outlook?
'This important series translates our growing understanding of the vital role of early experience in laying the foundation for life-long learning for children growing up in poor communities around the world. It shows how despite poverty, we can combat the effects of deprivation on development and help young children thrive by promoting cost effective and humane early stimulation, attachment, and learning experiences. In this time of increasing globalization, these films bring students of child development and early education into the global community by expanding their vision of the power of child development in promoting the wellbeing of all children. An invaluable resource for programs that aim to integrate an appreciation of cultural diversity and economic and social justice into their courses.' Dr. Diane E. Levin, Professor of Education, Wheelock College, Author, Teaching Young Children in Violent Times
'The Mayor's Dream and Kibera Kids films use an exciting clarity and grace to convey the complex and often disquieting message regarding the overwhelming significance of the early years in preparing humans for their best chance at a productive and meaningful lives. The mixed chorus of young and old voices, experts and community leaders, and the lucky and the vulnerable is highly educational and persuasive. I look forward to using them to do just that; to teach and to persuade.' Kyle Pruett, M.D. Clinical Professor of Child Psychiatry and Nursing, Yale School of Medicine, author of Fatherneed and Partnership Parenting
'The film asks the imponderable question, Is this push for early child development an imposition of Western expectations, or does it prepare children for the kind of modern future that parents themselves want? No doubt the answer is a little of both. But at least the film has slum-dwellers and development planners--and, as a result of watching it, hopefully teachers and students--asking the question. Will today's Kibera kids be tomorrow's Kibera adults, having Kibera kids of their own?...Suitable for some mature high school classes and for college courses in cultural anthropology, anthropology of development, anthropology of education, anthropology of childhood, and African studies, as well as general audiences.' Jack David Eller, Community College of Denver, Anthropology Review Database
'Appropriate for discussions of the social and emotional development of young children through pre-school activities, stimulation, and communication. Recommended for collections in child psychology and child development.' Carolyn Walden, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Educational Media Reviews Online
Citation
Main credits
Gabbay, Alex (Director)
Gabbay, Alex (Film editor)
Gabbay, Alex (Cinematographer)
Bradshaw, Steve (Narrator)
Other credits
Music, the Definitive Break.
Distributor subjects
African Studies; Anthropology; At-risk Youth; Child Development; Community; Developing World; Economics; Education; Globalization; Philosophy; Psychology; Social Psychology; SociologyKeywords
WEBVTT
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[music]
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[music]
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It isn’t Rio de Janeiro.
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Isn’t a city of God
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[music]
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It isn’t Mumbai.
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It isn’t slumdog millionaire
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[music]
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It’s the biggest slum in Africa.
Tryber’s slum in Nairobi Kenya.
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[sil.]
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Slumdog millionaire, City of
God, two Galbers hit films
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about kids and slums. Here in
Tryber they even made their own,
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about kids, gangs and music.
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By 2050 born in three people could be living
in slums three billions slum dwellers
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600 hundred million of them children.
So far in early live we have seen
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how the first five years of a
child development can be crucial.
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So is Tryber seizing is seizing the opportunity
and our film we put together a typical day
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in the lives of four children under five.
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From daybreak sub-Saharan
Africa’s biggest slum is noisy,
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chaotic and unhealthy.
This violence robberies,
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carjackings, vigilantes. On some
days murder victims left on display.
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There are no proper drains and no rubbish
collection there are stinking latrines
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and open sewers malaria
and typhoid are common.
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The death rate for under fives here
is three times Nairobi is as a whole.
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So far four year old Nasuru survived.
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Nasuru and his cousin Maria go
to a preschool run by the church
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there is no Kenyan government wants.
Preschool gives Nasuru’s mom time to work,
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it feeds him and keeps him away from
urban stress and unpleasant strangers
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and new concern after the
post-election violence in 2007.
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[non-English narration]
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It’s not good for children because…
because if you look at this place
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where we live, they are drunkards who
just come and start talking dirty
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and as they talk, the
children are listening.
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But it’s not just the danger
of harm or moral corruption.
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Stress can raise levels of the hormone cortical
permanently altering the brain’s architecture.
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The result can be kids with
a dangerously short fuse.
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We have a growing science
space that tells us that
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among the many things that children learn early in their
life, is a sense of safety and a sense of threat.
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And we know that children who are in
unstable or in threatening situations
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umm…, develop adaptive
mechanisms to cope with that
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and one of the more interesting things that’s been,
illustrated by this work, is the extent to which children
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who live in violent threatening
Environments. Umm… Over interpret threat
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in circumstances that other children as
they’re growing up might see as neutral.
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And this is… this is adaptive if you live in a
violent threatening environment, it is good for you
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to kind of have a short fuse.
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Preschool is a safe space for the kids. Some
where they can develop peacefully and in theory
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become less violent adults.
But many parents can’t afford
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the ten dollars a month fees.
Nasuru’s mum can only afford five.
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So she’s constantly envious(ph).
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How are you? The sun is there.
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The sun is there. The sun is there.
The sun is there.
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But preschool isn’t just
about avoiding stress.
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It’s also about stimulating young brains,
when they’re developing most rapidly.
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I wash my face. I wash my face.
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I dress myself. I dress myself.
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Interaction with caring adults is essential
for healthy development. …drink a cup of tea.
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And drink a cup of tea. I say bye…
bye to dad. I say bye… bye to dad.
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Interaction helps build the
circuitry of the brain,
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right through the earlier.
Then I run to school, run.
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Then I run to school.
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There are some kids in Tryber. who
aren’t lucky enough to go to preschool.
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Both Natasha’s parents have
died and her uncle can’t afford
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to send her to preschool regularly.
So at four Natasha has been
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in and out of preschool.
Natasha spends most of the day
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hanging around the neighborhood. She’s locked out,
her uncle doesn’t trust her alone in the house.
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She spends a day killing time waiting
for friends to return from school.
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I think there’s millions of
Natasha’s around the world.
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The majority of children who are poor and
developing countries are like Natasha.
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The, they staying at home
and doing or working maybe
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or doing nothing constructive in terms of their
development is… is the norm I would say.
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And the danger of that is Well they won’t
develop to their full potential in… in language
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and in cognitive development
and in social skills
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and they will be overwhelm
when they get to school.
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[sil.]
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This morning in Nasuru’s class
it’s a rubber band that provides
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a quick lesson in social skills.
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It’s going to be a face off,
but Nasuru’s classmate Brian,
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decides not to get involved.
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Half a kilometer away at stories
preschool young teacher Matta Hanna,
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starts morning our class.
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Patience joined a few months ago and it’s
her first chance to play with colors.
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[sil.]
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Go and sit over there. Sit over there
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Preschool isn’t just about social skills.
It’s about creativity too.
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[sil.]
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Teacher can have a never block
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[music]
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Experts disagree over how
critical the first five years are
00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:44.999
and they were whether more funding should
be diverted to early childhood development.
00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:49.999
But many of those who set the agenda for Global
Development now we got early childhood as a key priority.
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The child of course comes into
the world with many gifts
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but they need to be developed at the sign
ups is in the brain need to be developed.
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The feelings need to be developed
the ability to have social contact
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needs to be developed. The creative elements need
to be developed the language needs to be developed,
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and you can’t leave it till five or six years
old, and this all happens much earlier
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and all the evidence
suggests that those children
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that have the stimulation on all those
areas and, and combined with that
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health and proper nutrition, to make sure
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that they develop appropriately that those kids
over a lifetime will do better than other children.
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Over stressed under stimulated kids like
Natasha play some more uncertain future.
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Even if they do get to primary school
it’s hard to recover from a poor start.
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What can lie in wait petty crime violence
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unwanted teenage pregnancy.
Where is your uncle?
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[non-English narration]
He’s gone to the lake.
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What this is doing? He’s going to get fish.
00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:09.999
[non-English narration]
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When does he come back. At eight.
When. At eight in the evening.
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I can’t play
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a drum… drum… drum… I can’t play a drum
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first time you do. Preschool beats
hanging around sound’s obvious,
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problem is what kind of preschool.
Some African traditions
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can conflict with western ideals.
You find that
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in our Afghan community, children not allowed
to speak when elder people are speaking,
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they just have to remain silent
and the… which is conflict
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with their freedom of expression.
You find that children learn
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they get more confident when they express
them-self. They express the ideas,
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and when you bang them, you keep on
telling them to shut up shut up,
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the child stops thinking.
00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:14.999
But some experts fear Western
style pre-schooling can ignore
00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:19.999
African definitions of intelligence.
This game is about Feeding My Family.
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Take this. Me… me… me.
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Unlike in the West
00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:34.999
where children are involved in
nonsense play, African children,
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actually, when they play, they
are doing livelihood task.
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The… the… their play is
around things that sustain
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with life of families. So
umm… I refer to that as
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umm… a responsible intelligence. Some
critics say that the Western model
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pushes children towards
creative individualism
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and have personal ambition,
walking alone through the world.
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Well done. Well done.
00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:14.999
The African model set, encourages
children to learn from each other
00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:19.999
and develop social skills, not
the Patience sees it that way.
00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:24.999
Why do you like this tin game?
00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:29.999
Because I like paint on
the (inaudible) check,
00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:34.999
when I go home. The child to child
relationship and interaction and learn,
00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:39.999
uh… peer… peer mentoring
right from an early age.
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It’s very important and very helpful.
It is really there
00:12:45.000 --> 00:12:49.999
in the sense that children
are concerned about
00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:54.999
not living or thus behind. Okay,
so they are very helpful.
00:12:55.000 --> 00:12:59.999
So in an African setting, that
plays out in the sense that
00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:04.999
from early… from an early age
parents monitor and ensure that
00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:09.999
their children helpful and said
that, even if a child is excelling
00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:15.000
in… in school… in school learning, parents are
concerned if that child is not socially smart.
00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:28.000
[non-English narration]
00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:49.999
With state primary schools now free, the
Kenyan education budget is fully stretched.
00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:54.999
So here in Kibera, preschools are organized
by the church, community groups,
00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:59.999
and by parents. Classes can
be big, by Nasuru have
00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:04.999
54 classmates and… enrolments are up.
00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:09.999
After the election violence, parents think
twice before leaving kids with neighbors.
00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:15.000
Preschool is more valued than ever,
not just for food but for security.
00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:28.000
[sil.]
00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:34.999
Brian’s mother came to
Kibera from Western Kenya.
00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:39.999
She hoped for a better life
00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:44.999
but now can’t afford to send her other
kids to preschool. So she’s worried
00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:50.000
Brian’s younger brother Fidel could take
lessons not from teachers but from strangers.
00:14:55.000 --> 00:15:03.000
[sil.]
00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:09.999
Most of the children are bad mannered
00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:14.999
because children in Kibera hung around
areas where there are drunks or thieves,
00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:19.999
sometimes the children here
bad stories from these people
00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:24.999
who don’t go to work, and
are influenced by them.
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I sit down with my children.
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I try to tell them not to do the bad things
like, if you go to steal, you will be linked,
00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:39.999
if you drink alcohol, the police
will detain you for life,
00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:44.999
and I will never see you again.
Warning them
00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:49.999
like this scares them.
00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:54.999
When she’s working, Brian’s mother trusts her
16 year-old niece Lydia, to look after Fidel
00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:59.999
and his baby brother Elvis.
00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:04.999
[sil.]
00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:09.999
Back in class, five hours under a hot tin
roof ends with a sleep on a dirt floor.
00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:14.999
[sil.]
00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:19.999
But what about the rest of the day, can
early childhood development happen
00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:25.000
outside preschool too?
00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:34.999
Even while leaving there’s still a
chance to help young minds develop.
00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:40.000
Nasuru’s still learning the social skills.
00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:49.999
[sil.]
00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:54.999
Time to go home.
00:16:55.000 --> 00:17:03.000
[music]
00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:59.999
But does home help or hinder
early children development?
00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:04.999
Patience’s mother washes cloths for living.
00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:09.999
She’s taking the afternoon off,
to help with homework. L L
00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:14.999
M, n M, n, m O, p O, p
00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:19.999
Q, r Patience’s mother has a practical take
00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:24.999
on the difference preschool has made.
00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:29.999
Patience’s has really changed
with preschool. Now if I call her
00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:34.999
when she’s far away, she will come running.
00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:39.999
I can also send her the shops.
And she goes running.
00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:44.999
When I’m sick in bed, I can send
her to go, buy me some medicine
00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:50.000
and she’ll run and fetch it.
00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:59.999
But no such stimulation for Natasha,
or the baby she is looking after.
00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:05.000
[sil.]
00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:14.999
Nasuru’s back home all ready. It’s
about to get busy for his mother,
00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:19.999
potatoes need to be fried and sold.
00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:24.999
And since going to preschool
Nasuru has been helping out more.
00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:29.999
[sil.]
00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:34.999
I do help carrying, I carry.
00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:39.999
What do you carry?
00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:44.999
If I’m asked, I carry chapati.
00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:49.999
[non-English narration]
00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:54.999
Before I took him to school, he was stubborn.
But now he is going to school, he’s changing.
00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:59.999
[non-English narration]
00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.999
I used to ask Nasuru to
stop doing something.
00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:10.000
But he used to tell me to stop stressing
him out because he’s still a child.
00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:19.999
Patience also enjoys
helping her mother out.
00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:24.999
Mom, we need to go(ph) for the
veg and one for the (inaudible).
00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:29.999
If she finds onions on the table,
00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:34.999
she wants to slice. If I’m not near,
I worry she might cut herself.
00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:39.999
So I give her a blunt knife
00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:44.999
so that she can learn how to cut and be
contented that she has helped her mother.
00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:49.999
[non-English narration]
00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:54.999
Are you cooking? I’m preparing
the veg but not cooking.
00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:59.999
Who will then? My mother will.
00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:04.999
It’s an everyday task but some experts say
00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:09.999
it is still cognitive stimulation,
stimulating kids to think and they say,
00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:14.999
learning at home, the African way, should not
be overlooked in the rush for preschool.
00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:19.999
Most African parents that
would not answer directly,
00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:24.999
\"Mother, father, how did you do that?\"
And the… the typical response would be,
00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:29.999
\"Don’t you have eyes!\" And
it is translated into…
00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:34.999
you are expected to watch,
00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:39.999
to observe, \"See, what I do
and not… and not ask me.
00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:44.999
It is not for me to teach
you,\" so I think that is
00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:49.999
far more cognitive uh… stimulation
where the child is figuring out things
00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:54.999
and not being prodded, it’s not
being pushed or to do instructed.
00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:59.999
Back in Brian school,
00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:04.999
the older kids are still at
it, now creative drawing.
00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:09.999
Volunteer teacher, Sarah, is
concerned about traditional ways.
00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:14.999
So in the West we’re very much
thought to think for ourselves,
00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:19.999
umm… even question authority, you know,
just all of that individual thinking
00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:24.999
and here you do everything as a group.
Umm… Even in the classroom
00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:29.999
and so it is very hard for people to do or for
the children to do something on their own.
00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:34.999
Oftentimes, umm… even some of the students
if they’re sitting near each other,
00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:39.999
they’ll all draw the same thing.
00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:44.999
Happy birthday to you. It’s
Patience’s 4th birthday.
00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:49.999
Happy birthday to you. The push
for early childhood development
00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:54.999
came from the West. So is the
West imposing its own model of
00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:59.999
how kids should grow up? Well,
this is a common criticism
00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:04.999
uh… that we… uh… the West are imposing,
00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:09.999
umm… practices on Africa that aren’t appropriate.
And to some extent that may be true.
00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:14.999
But if you speak to the… to the parents and
ask them what they want for their child.
00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:19.999
You will be amazed that they want their
children to be doctors, teachers, nurses,
00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:24.999
they’re very ambitious for their children.
And… and if as soon as they understand
00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:29.999
that the children are not going to have
a better life than they’re having,
00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:34.999
which is what most parents want, unless they do
something about that early child development.
00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:39.999
Umm… Things aren’t going to improve.
00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:44.999
The next year will be Patience’s first year
at primary school. She could grow up to be,
00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:49.999
well, anything really. If you
give the kids better stimulation
00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:54.999
in those early years, they will do better in
their primary, secondary, and tertiary years.
00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:59.999
They will stay in the school. The evidence
is overwhelming that if you give them
00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:04.999
better stimulation in the early years, and
health, and education, and… and nutrition
00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:09.999
that if you can get to the kids in those years, then your
task in primary, secondary, and tertiary is much better.
00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:14.999
And so it is not a waste of
money, it is… it’s an investment.
00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:19.999
Early childhood development
may seem unaffordable
00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:24.999
to poor countries and to poor parents.
00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:29.999
But risks can be worth taking.
00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:34.999
When I look at my own life, I… I see
that because I’m the son of illiterate,
00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:39.999
starkly illiterate… literate parents
but who push me go… go into the world.
00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:44.999
And they gave that opportunity and they knew,
they feared… they didn’t fear anything.
00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:49.999
I mean, I think that is the essential
thing is to dare and to dare responsibly.
00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:54.999
Natasha’s uncle hope she can
go to preschool too soon.
00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:59.999
He’s already bought her a uniform.
It’s been estimated,
00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.999
there are 200 million children,
like Natasha, in the world.
00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:09.999
Many may not recover from a poor
start but from the Natasha,
00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:14.999
at least there is still hope.
00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:23.000
[music]
Distributor: Bullfrog Films
Length: 25 minutes
Date: 2009
Genre: Expository
Language: English
Grade: 9-12, College, Adult
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
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