Research shows that the impact of trauma can be mitigated by the right physical, emotional, and social factors – those typically associated with high-quality, child-centered early education programs. Nurturing learning environments with consistent routines help children experiencing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) build feelings of physical and psychological safety, hope, and trust. Positive social and emotional support, through the development of healthy peer and teacher relationships, builds children’s self-confidence and agency and provides critical modeling of appropriate adult relationships (Jennings, 2018). Early childhood programs with a strong parental engagement component have been shown to additionally magnify their impact, strengthen parent-child relationships, and promote overall family wellbeing (Start Early).

Despite clear evidence that high quality early education can be transformative, there are still 175 million children around the world who are not enrolled in pre-primary education (UNICEF). In fact, access to early childhood education is most limited for children living in countries experiencing conflict or disaster, with over two thirds of preschool-aged children in these regions not enrolled in early childhood programs (UNICEF).

Nest Global partners with communities around the world to co-create high-quality early childhood, parenting and caregiver & me programs where they are needed most.