Phone-Based Reach Up and Learn

Reach Up and Learn (RUL) is a home-visiting program that was introduced in Jamaica in 1975. In 2016, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), in collaboration with the Arab Resource Collective, adapted RUL for the context of Syrian and host community families in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria and integrated RUL into its education, child protection, and health programs in Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. While the overarching language of these countries of implementation is Arabic, there are many local dialects and colloquial phrases, the use or omission of which can have a significant influence on the ability to understand spoken conversations. For translation, the IRC collaborated with the Arab Resource Collective (ARC) on translation of the RUL material into Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). IRC country teams made further changes to the language as needed to ensure local relevance and understanding. The IRC and ARC also worked on cultural contextualization of RUL based on an analysis of lessons learned from previous parenting support programs and advice from child development experts in the Middle East. From 2016 to early 2020, as part of the Ahlan Simsim early childhood initiative for the Syrian refugee response region funded as the inaugural MacArthur Foundation 100&Change initiative, the IRC delivered RUL through in-person home visits in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, with caregivers of children 6-42 months receiving weekly or bi-weekly home visits over a 6-month or 1-year period, depending on the context. When the COVID-19 pandemic halted in-person programming in March 2020, the IRC Early Childhood Development (ECD) team adapted the RUL curriculum for delivery through phone calls in Jordan. IRC made the decision to deliver this intervention through audio-only phone calls after asking a sample of caregivers about their preferences, and whether they wanted video or picture content. Most caregivers preferred audio-only phone calls as they worried about the data costs of video or pictures. The activities were adapted to be delivered on the phone to caregivers to provide caregivers with stimulation activities they can do with their children using basic household items (plastic bottles, bottlecaps, plastic containers…etc.) Specifically, CHVs recruited caregivers from their social networks and enlist them in the program. They then called them three times a month to (1) check in on their well-being; (2) deliver health messages and (3) tell them about the stimulation activities. A team from NYU led by Prof. Yoshikawa (PI) is serving as the external evaluator on a study of the home visiting in Jordan, Ahlan Simsim, funded by the MacArthur Foundation and in partnership with Sesame Workshop and the IRC. Due to the recent COVID-19 Pandemic, the home-visiting Reach Up and Learn program will be delivered remotely via phone calls in the areas of Irbid/Ramtha, Mafraq and Amman.