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Phase II (Continued)

Connie Clay (center) conferred with builders on the floor plan for the reconstructed Imagination Station child care center in Long Beach (Harrison County), Miss. Save the Children contributed $551,000 for repair and reconstruction of 36 child care facilities in Harrison County. The Help and Hope Foundation of Jackson, Miss., and volunteer attorney Louisa Dixon handled contracts and disbursement for the reconstruction projects.

Left to right: Joan Elder, Beverly Peden, and Veronika Powe of the Mississippi Early Childhood Association packed donated art supplies for early childhood programs hit by Hurricane Katrina.

ECI gained another major partner, in addition to the Kellogg Foundation and Chevron, when Save the Children, an international relief organization, dispatched a team to the Mississippi coast. Led by Jeanne-Aimee DeMarrais, the team set up headquarters in the heavily damaged community of Moss Point (Jackson County) and quickly identified ECI as a key partner for its own recovery efforts. Soon Save the Children pledged to rebuild 34 child care facilities in Harrison County.

While the immediate focus was on reconstruction, distribution of materials, and training so that child care programs could reopen, the social-emotional needs of young children, their families, and early childhood teachers and caregivers were a priority of the Rebuilding After Katrina Project.

ECI collaborated with Save the Children to adapt a well-regarded psychosocial intervention program for use with younger children. In addition, the institute sponsored several workshops about helping young children rebound from emotional trauma for early childhood teachers and caregivers, enrolling 68 participants at three workshops in Hattiesburg and Biloxi in December 2005. The trainers at those workshops were Cate Heroman of Teaching Strategies, Inc., and Ginny Luther of Loving Guidance, Inc. The institute also sponsored four concerts by the popular early childhood educator and entertainer, Dr. Thomas Moore, as a holiday gift to teachers, caregivers, and young children on the coast. More than 400 children and adults attended those concerts on Dec. 15 and 16. As the six-month anniversary of Hurricane Katrina neared, ECI was completing plans for long-term training and on-site assistance to child care providers in the disaster area, so that teachers can help young children discover and practice innate coping skills.

Left: Cathy Grace, Ed.D. (left) posed with volunteers from Save the Children (left to right): Jeanne-Aimee DeMarrais, Mike Taurus, and Yael Hoffman.	Jeanne-Aimee DeMarrais of Save the Children directed Allen O’Bryan of Catholic Charities as he deposited a pallet of early childhood education materials in a moving van.

Data sources: Rebuilding After Katrina Project, Save the Children, Chevron

See Map: Mississippi: Recovery of Licensed Child Care Facilities after Katrina. Sept. 2, 2005 - March 31, 2006.

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