HHI’s recent collaboration with Christine Chaille and Frank Mahler of Portland State University to create a culturally neutral and globally applicable training for parents/caregivers and teachers in the importance of early childhood development is almost complete - and it is revolutionary! First, it is designed to empower parents, teachers and other care-givers in how their direct actions can better their child’s development. All other early child development training tools focus mostly on listing developmental milestones and do not empower adults on the difference they can make in their day-to-day nurturing, care and interactions. Secondly, the curriculum was consciously created to be culturally neutral. This means that the language, activities and examples were all very carefully chosen with the support of HHI’s experts to be applicable anywhere in the world! It empowers people to act, regardless of specific toys or resources. This curriculum will be translated into over 20 languages, to be used in profoundly impoverished areas, and it will be infused local language, games, songs, dance, and stories to be true to the culture.

PSU’s partnership with HHI will ultimately affect the lives of hundreds-of-thousands of children in developing countries. They are providing the tools that will help overturn the status quo in how orphaned and vulnerable children worldwide are cared for. International aid organizations are already contacting HHI to discuss how they can use HHI’s training model and materials to train the caregivers in their early child health programs. They have visions of using it in a wide range of areas, including: orphanages, refugee camps, resettlement communities, in conflict zones, with HIV/AIDS affected children, and in severely impoverished communities.