Bringing laughter and learning to a generation of children

Sesame Street, and the cast of Muppets, makes most of us think about joy, laughter and learning. But for more than 30 million children displaced today, the Sesame Street experience is a distant dream. These children have known nothing but war. Bombing, not schools, soldiers not teachers, and treacherous journeys not secure foundations.

One of the greatest risks for refugee children is “toxic stress,” stress so prolonged and extreme it triggers a flood of hormones which impair how the brain develops. Untreated, children with toxic stress are more likely to have a hard time in school, struggle to concentrate and contain their emotions and suffer poor health outcomes.

But we now know from science that intervention in the earliest years can actually reverse these effects. Skills developed in early childhood will last a lifetime.

That very knowledge is the reason why the IRC and Sesame Workshop have partnered: together, we are creating the largest early childhood intervention in the history of humanitarian response. Reaching children, parents, and caregivers —from classrooms to health clinics to mobile devices—the program will provide 9.4 million children with evidence-based early education and nurturing care.

The IRC and Sesame Workshop are among the four finalists selected for the MacArthur Foundation 100& Change competition that will give $100 million to a solution that promises real and measurable progress in solving a critical problem of our time. And this Monday, we have the opportunity to publicly present our proposal. You can see our presentation and ask questions by following #100andChange.

Our program will support millions of families in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, improve learning outcomes and help children overcome the trauma of war. It will impact a generation, transform the humanitarian system, and give these kids an opportunity to rebuild their societies -- contributing to a more peaceful world for all.

 For more on this partnership, visit refugee.sesameinternational.org.