October 12, 2016

Having the security of family unity is important for child development. A child who has grown up without the reliability of a family support system will face more developmental challenges. Tamara Gold, a psychotherapist and parenting coach based in New York, researches the impact of having a stable family life on childhood development. She says that “the family is profoundly important to the developmental, emotional, and cognitive growth of a child. A child will learn about relationships, manners, self-esteem, worth, and loyalty, all by watching and participating in family”. The Foundation For Tomorrow gives our scholars a great opportunity to develop brother and sister relationships where they can feel free, loved, and have a sense of belonging.

This week, our family cell meeting had the theme of teamwork – working together as a family. The scholars were very happy as they all participated in preparing a banner with the slogan it is our right to get the best education. They decided to make this banner because they know lots of their friends and relatives at home do not have the same opportunities as they do, and quality education is not offered to all children.  They wanted to show their unity with other children to advocate on behalf of everyone.

As we prepared the banners, we had lots of fun thinking about others, using our imaginations, exercising creativity and working together. Through family cell activities, we can see each scholar’s individual talents and better understand how to help them learn. We make sure to vary family cell activities so that all of our scholars can participate in a meaningful way. 

Since many of our scholars are not accustomed to a sense of family unity at home, I have loved witnessing the transformation in the scholars as we have instilled these family values for them. I have seen positive changes in attitudes and behaviors as the scholars now feel a sense of belonging to a certain group of people.

As an organization, we value the overall mental and physical health and safety of our scholars. Our family cells allow our team to spend extra-curricular time with our scholars on an individual basis. We want to make sure that all of our scholars feel safe, healthy, and happy both in and out of school. In addition to our happy and sad boxes, family cell meetings assist us in ensuring that this is the case.