When this groundbreaking nursery opened a reading corner – something wonderful happened (PICS)

The Early Learning Center (ELC) in Da Nang in Vietnam is one of a kind – set up specifically for the children of migrant workers.

 Parents whose children attend the center have moved from the countryside to the city to find work. Without family support, previously the best childcare they could hope for would be Vietnam’s problematic daycare centers. Many centers have too many children and too few carers and reports of abuse regularly appear in local news.

 Instead, OneSky’s ELC provides a safe, loving environment with trained staff in an international surrounding, with fees set at lower rates than most local childcare provision.

 The center is open six days a week from early morning to early evening. The late closing means hard working parents can enjoy the facilities with their children when they arrive to pick them up after work.

 It all adds up to special time together away between the pressures of work and sparse homes.

 One mother shared:

 “We only have a black and white alphabet book at home. These colorful books are expensive and are an unnecessary expense for us. But this time with my son is very precious.”

A father added:

 “It was a pleasant surprise when my daughter started telling me the stories. She can’t yet read but she knows the stories off by heart.”

 Week by week numbers of parents using the facilities with their children have grown – much to the delight of ELC staff.

Science continues to promote the benefits of parents reading to children:

“Study after study shows that early reading with children helps them learn to speak, interact, bond with parents and read early themselves, and reading with kids who already know how to read helps them feel close to caretakers, understand the world around them and be empathetic citizens of the world.” Read more here.