By: Emily Agnew, `14

In Peru, over one-half of the population lives in extreme poverty. Parents are forced to leave their children unattended for many hours, working long 10-hour days. The Wawa Wasi “Childrenís Homes,” allow working mothers to leave their children under the care of trained health professionals. Children receive basic stimulation and nutrition- both of which they would not receive at home. This program, set up by collaboration between UNICEF and Peruís Ministry of Education is able to serve 150,000 children. Preschools like Wawa Wasi help children develop basic cognitive and social skills, giving them the early stimulation they need to succeed later in life.

More than 200 million children in developing countries do not reach their full cognitive development. This absence in development is due to a lack of nutrition, early stimulation, or resources. Early child development (ECD) programs are fundamental tools in bridging this gap, and giving children the educational stimulation they need. Children develop at a rapid rate in the first few years of their lives, making intervention essential. ECD programs have enumerable benefits, including higher school readiness, increased school performance, decreased dropout rates, grade retention, and socio-emotional stability. Low levels of childhood development are correlated with criminality, poor school performance, increased reliance on the health care system, and lower future earnings.

I became interested in researching this issue after looking at the preschools Save the Children set up in Mozambique, Africa. I wanted to look into other preschool programs, to compare and contrast what factors made each ECD program successful. Therefore, my research project evaluates six different preschools in Africa and South America to determine what factors create effective ECD programs. I found that the most significant factors in ECD programs are attending ECD programs with either personal attention or an emphasis on nutrition. Additionally, my project discusses the policy implications of ECD programs and proves that it is imperative for governments to invest in ECD for economic reason.

By: Sophie Tepler, `14

The sun is setting on Sub Saharan Africa.  There is a feeling of calm and stillness as another day comes to a close.  A mosquito buzzes by, then two, then ten and suddenly the air is thick with the sound of buzzing and swooshing mosquitoes, looking for their next blood meal.  The scene is not so peaceful anymore.  There is the imminent danger of a mosquito bite, the looming risk of malaria.  Once every minute, a child living in Africa dies of malaria.

Malaria is a preventable and curable disease that accounts for hundreds of millions of deaths each year, especially in Africa where its burden is especially ponderous.  This paper will explore how foreign aid, in varying level of specificity, can help reduce the number of malaria cases in Sub Saharan Africa.  This was tested by collecting data on malaria infections, foreign aid, GDP and two forms of malaria protection in ten different Sub Saharan African countries for the years 2000 to 2011 and analyzing it to see the effect of these variables on dependent variable, number of malaria cases.  From this research, I found that foreign aid is associated with a decreased number of malaria cases and that health sector aid, foreign aid donated to all health related issues, was more strongly associated with a reduced number of malaria cases than total foreign aid and malaria specific aid, foreign aid donated specifically to combat malaria.
There has been a recent surge in total foreign aid in the past decade as well as an increase in health sector aid, specifically to Africa, which has been argued to be a result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.  Can this money help reduce the number of malaria cases in Sub Saharan Africa, and if so, what is the most effective method of giving aid?  I hope to show that increased levels of foreign aid, although a broad and sometimes vague concept, is in fact associated with reduced number of malaria cases in Sub Saharan Africa.  It is predicted that malaria specific aid will be the most strongly associated with a reduced number of malaria cases then either total foreign aid or health sector foreign aid because it is specifically targeted at combatting malaria and is therefore more focused than the other two types of aid.

By: Joanna Moley, `14

My research examines what type of psychological effects war has on the youth of Israel and Palestine, and how these psychological effects affect their attitudes toward the Israeli Defense Forces or terrorist groups.  I reached the conclusion that the conflict has had negative psychological effects on the youth of Israel and Palestine that leads to the Israeli children  feeling a low level of enthusiasm and the Palestinian children

feeling a high level of enthusiasm about becoming involved in the violence of the conflict.  This thesis was derived from the analysis of dozens of direct testimonies from Israeli and Palestinian children.  I read interviews with Palestinian children who were abducted and tortured by the Israeli Defense Force, from Israeli children who are afraid to leave their homes because of the threat of Palestinian suicide bombers, and many other similarly traumatic accounts.

The four most common categories of psychological trauma found within the testimonies were that the frustration surrounding the conflict led to violence, that the knowledge that parents and adults were unable to offer protection caused anxiety within the children, that the youths believed that leading a virtuous life would not protect them from the violence of the war or improve their futures, and the firm belief that the blame for the war fell on the enemy territory (which is an example of extreme nationalism  from both sides).  This presentation will explain the origins of these themes and the potential effect they have on the children whose accounts I analyzed.