Writer: Communications Officer Yin Yueyuan

Photos by: Project Officer Dong Baoyan

 August 12 and 13 were busy and joyful days for project leader Dong Baoyan.As Dong Baoyan announced, "The launch ceremony for this project is successfully concluded," the HPP Scientific Parenting and Early Childhood Education Project added six new sites in Tengchong City: Fuyu, Shuanghai, Yubi, Chaoyang, Lushan, and Houku. To date, the project has reached 16 villages in Tengchong City.

In 2022, a survey by the HPP project team found that most primary caregivers knew very little about early care, nurturing, and education for infants and young children, and lacked parent-child companionship and interaction. A study by the World Bank and the Yunnan Provincial Department of Education revealed that 49% of poor rural children had never been told stories by their parents, and 70% of caregivers had never played interactive games with their children. Aiming to address the childcare and education challenges for young children in rural households, HPP, after research and advocacy, secured funding and launched the Scientific Parenting and Early Childhood Education Project in five villages across three townships in Tengchong.

Using a "government + community + public welfare" model, the project establishes parent school parent-child activity centers in villages, equipped with play and teaching materials to provide spaces for village children and caregivers to play, interact, and learn. It trains local villagers to become qualified infant and toddler development facilitators, helping them master early childhood development concepts and methods, and fostering them as village "parenting pioneers" responsible for the daily management and operation of the activity centers, conducting home visits, and providing services to villagers. Daily activities at the centers and home visits to project children's families help improve local childcare concepts and practices, promoting early childhood development. Regular communication and collaboration with local government departments and higher authorities actively promote the project model and mobilize their participation to ensure its sustainable development.

As of June 2025, over three years of implementation, the project has covered four townships and eight villages, benefiting 425 young children, with 3,872 home visits conducted, and activity centers open for 15,700 hours. The project has been featured multiple times by the local Women's Federation and recognized by higher authorities. It has gained support and praise from participating caregivers, and an increasing number of local children are joining the activity centers. Through facilitator records and observations, each child has shown positive changes, and caregivers' parenting concepts have become more scientific and systematic.

"Before, I didn't know how to play with my child at home. When I was busy, I would just let the child play alone nearby, with no extra time to supervise. Now it's different. With the activity center, I make time every day to accompany my child there to learn and play. It's really a wonderful place!" said a caregiver from the Shangmenglian Activity Center.

From zero to fourteen currently running activity centers, from the mountains of Puchuan to the communities of Tengyue, from the villages of Wuhe to the fields of Beihai, these parent-child activity centers have become "early education fuel stations" for rural families, bringing scientific parenting concepts into thousands of households.

"From nothing to something, from zero to fourteen, I have seen the scientific parenting awareness of more and more caregivers gradually improve, and I have seen the smiles on more and more children's faces. The project has taken root and blossomed in Tengchong City, sowing seeds of hope in the heart of every caregiver and child," said project leader Dong Baoyan.

Project Introduction:

The Tengchong Scientific Parenting and Early Childhood Education Project is supported by the Genwell Foundation, Evergreen Education Foundation, Yao Han Charity Fund, Dr. Engel, and charity interested EMBA and EFP students at Shanghai Jiaotong University. Implemented by HPP in collaboration with the Tengchong Women's Federation and the Education and Sports Bureau. By setting up ‘Parenting and Play Centers’, the project team carries out a variety of interesting activities, trains ‘Parenting and Play Instructors’, and visits families regularly to help parents improve their knowledge of child rearing and education, master the skills of parent-child interaction, and promote the early education and sustainable development of rural children aged 0-4.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and have nothing to do with the position of the funder.