Family Involvement for Child Development (FICD) is an ECD initiative that supports children from 3- 6 years. RF’s FICD program in Pakistan is derived from an ECD model that the Ismaili Community in the U.S. had designed for the newly arrived South Asian families in the country to bridge the gap and bringing them at par with native students in formal schooling. The major purpose of this Montessori-based weekly program is to involve and prepare parents for the optimum development of their children by increasing their knowledge about parenting and ECD. The FICD sessions are conducted on weekly basis for both parents and children. The sessions are divided into three age appropriate modules known as the Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. The duration of each module spans over 25 weeks.
FICD DISCIPLINE
Every week parents and children come to the FICD Center and attend a 3-hour session with trained FICD facilitators who are usually mothers working as volunteers. The weekly session comprises a curriculum class and two separate sessions for parents and children. Preparing children for school readiness, with physical, socio- emotional and intellectual development are at the heart of the FICD program. The first FICD Center supported by RF was established at Aminabad Colony in Hyderabad in 2008. A group of community volunteers, trained as FICD facilitators, played a key role in the success of FICD in Aminabad. This paved the way for the addition oftwo more centers in Mubarak Colony and Khyber village in 2010. By the year 2013, RF established five additional FICD Centers in Sultanabad Colony, Muhammad Abad and Mirpur Sakro. This successful FICD model was replicated in Gilgit-Baltistan by setting up a center in Jutyal Gilgit in 2012. On the whole, RF is supporting eight FICD Centers in Sindh and Gilgit-Baltistan. Unlike other ECD programs, FICD is not a full time program with daily classes or regular home visits. It is rather designed as a supplementary program that motivates parents and especially mothers to become their child’s best teacher in those early and crucial years of life. This feature makes FICD a unique and attractive program in the areas of Gilgit-Baltistan and Sindh where the ECD programs following a similar model do not exist.
Unlike other ECD programs, FICD is not a full time program with daily classes or regular home visits. It is rather designed as a supplementary program that motivates parents and especially mothers to become their child’s best teacher in those early and crucial years of life. This feature makes FICD a unique and attractive program in the areas of Gilgit-Baltistan and Sindh where the ECD programs following a similar model do not exist.