BLOCK: A guide and training for young Nigerian parents

The problem associated with our early childhood development in AFRICA started from the parents. And most of these parents are lacking education because they are the victims of ‘rotten education’ in different parts of Africa.

Children in their early life need care and observation but the society or the parents that supposed to provide it at first are not capable to deliver, how could they cope with challenges of early childhood development while even the parents need care too?

My solution called BLOCK will be the positive idea because it will guide the parents on how to cater their children since from the beginning. The solution will even identified ways on how the mother can gave birth to a healthy child. Above all the solution will be started from pre and post natal period.

According to Atmore, Niekerk, and Ashley-Cooper, 59.2% of children in Africa, approximately 3.8 million children, have been reported to live in dire poverty. In turn, since many children live beneath the poverty line, approximately 16% of children live in households where child hunger has been reported.  Atmore, Niekerk, and Ashley-Cooper state that malnutrition has an effect on a child’s cognitive and physical development, thereby decreasing a child’s concentration and focus within ECD centres and at home.

 In the earliest years of life, especially from pregnancy to age three, babies need nutrition, protection and stimulation for healthy brain development. Recent advances in neuroscience provide new evidence about a baby’s brain development during this time.

Lack of nutrition in early childhood leads to stunting, which globally affects nearly one-in-four children younger than five. Risks associated with poverty such as under nutrition and poor sanitation  can lead to developmental delays and a lack of progress in school. Indeed, Africa has the largest share of these problems and if the parents are not train and guide well on how to take care of their children from the beginning early childhood development will be just a story

Many children in Africa most especially in West Africa, specifically those in informal settlements, face hunger, poor water sanitation, limited education, poverty, and health problems, the social and economic pressures present in these communities can affect the priorities of solving these five major challenges.

We are from Africa too and by the year 2030, 60% of parents in Africa will be young and their children will take over as the next generations to come. We did a small research in our local communities and what we found was if the parents are informed about how to take care of themselves and their babies the childhood development of their children will improved.

The solution we are proposing is based on technology that is to use their phones to learn how to eat healthy food, living in hygienic environment from the available resources around them. And they will get everything free of charge in their finger tips, and the good news is that 80% of young parents in Africa are using androids phone so that is why our solution will be accessible to the target group in Africa and the world at large. 

The name of the solution is BLOCK (Building Lasting Opportunities & Ceaseless Knowledge) a technology based application. And since we are trying to give solution for effective early childhood development we have to start by feeding the brain of the child first, how to build their brain, we have to start from the mother. The moment she conceived our BLOCK solution will be started. It start from the time she visit hospital by instructing  her to use her phone for the guide on how to deliver safely and how her baby will come to this world safely in a good health.

The solution will teach her how to eat good food that will give her baby a healthy brain because up to 75% of each meal that the mother eats goes to build her baby’s brain. So the solution will start by teaching her which type of food she eats in an affordable price and where to found it. And also the solution will step by step start guiding the would be mother from the first month of pregnant up to the time of delivery. And also when delivered or given birth BLOCK solution will enters second stage that is what to feed the baby because over 80% of baby’s brain is formed by the age of 3, so BLOCK solution will continue up to the five years of the baby that is the time he/she supposed to start schooling.

However, BLOCK will continue guiding and teaching both parents on how to take care of the baby or child after starting school. The series of training for them and the child will also be available in the BLOCK app to continue up to the time of 10 years by the grace of God.

What we believed is the right interventions at the right time can bolster development, break intergenerational cycles of inequity and provide a fair start in life for every child. For babies born into deprivation, intervening early, when the brain is rapidly developing, can reverse harm and help build resilience.  So that is why we have to start earlier from the parents then the solution will leads to their babies.

We have 3 people as full time workers and 10 workers as part time staffs who will assist us on building the app and the contents. 

The team which comprises an IT professional in the person of Aliyu Mansur Yakasai. He is an app creator expert in Nigeria and has an immence experience in child education will lead the IT department in creating the app.

Bashir Mudi Yakasai is an expert in the field of education becouse he spent more than 30 years in childhood education and a member in Kano state's ministry of education. He is going to lead the staffs on building the step by step guide and training module in the app for young parents.

Therefore, my team in the solution will definately deliver in terms of providing a long lasting solution. 

We have 3 female staffs in the team who happened to be a nurse, midwife and nutrionist. 

We only inform ministry of health and education in Kano state about the idea and they confirmed their support for the idea.

Our solution is free of charge and not a business.

Our hope is to get  the funding from solve.mit.edu and other grants from other ministries in Nigeria.

I applied becouse I want solve to help me actualize it by becoming a first mobile phone application that will help millions of poor African families.  

Ministry of education in Kano stae

Ministry of Health in Kano state

State Universal Basic Education Board etc