Hands to Hearts to Train India’s ICDS Teachers

This morning I just received some spectacular news from India!

Last August when I launched an HHI site in Kerala, I met with a District representative from India’s Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) program, similar to the US’s Head Start Program. ICDS is the largest early childhood development program in the world and is supported by UNICEF and World Bank. HHI trained some of their teachers and they all found it very useful and applicable in providing improved care for the children they serve – who are exclusively from India’s poorest families. Nine months ago, I proposed a contract to have HHI train all the ICDS teachers in the Kottayam District of Kerala, where they serve more than 30,000 children. The contract is finally getting signed and this means that our HHI Trainers will lead 2 trainings per month for the next year = HHI training for 240 women, bettering the health and care for 2,400 children! (Remember that this is at only one site, with 1-2 HHI trainers – minimal costs)

The state of Kerala is considered one of India’s most progressive and usually leads the country in health initiatives and innovation. I am hoping that next year, this will lead to a state wide contract for HHI with government funding, and then in 3-5 years to a country wide contract. This would mean that in the next 5 years HHI’s reach would grow exponentially – I cannot even project the numbers for the women and children we could reach! I would like to see countries take this on as a part of their health care policy… just maybe India will lead the way.