Tetley
Supporting early childhood
development on tea estates in Malawi
Why we’re working together
Unicef and Tetley are working together in Malawi to support early childhood development and learning. Children who do not receive adequate care and protection through healthcare, nutrition, early stimulation and learning opportunities, tend to have reduced cognitive, language and psychosocial outcomes as well as executive functioning. This can have an impact on academic achievement throughout childhood, as well as future employment opportunities and life outcomes.
Implementing Early Childhood Development services for vulnerable children can help level the playing field for these children, to help them reach their full potential and ultimately contribute to breaking the intergenerational poverty cycle. In fact, Early Childhood Development services have been proven to be the most cost-effective investment in promoting equitable and sustainable social and economic development and be at the very foundation of achieving all Sustainable Development Goals.
What we’re doing
UNICEF and Tetley are partnering to bring quality Early Childhood Development services for children aged 0-5, in and around targeted tea estates in the Mulanje and Thyolo districts of Malawi, over the period of 2020-2025.
Following an assessment in the region, two Early Childhood Development Centres will be built in the Mulanje and Thyolo districts and community members will be trained to help in these centres as well as in the communities.
The partnership will also benefit from a wider engagement programme which will deliver information on parenting and caregiving as well as training on child rights and business principles. The engagement programme will ensure children’s rights are protected and promoted wherever possible by businesses in the region.
What we aim to achieve
2
Early Childhood Development Centres established
2,000
children aged 0-5 supported
Over 6,000
indirect beneficiaries including pregnant and lactating women, parents /caregivers and adolescent mothers
Bar Kenya, we buy more tea from Malawi than any other tea producing region and we have been supporting projects in the country for many years. We are proud to be partnering with Unicef UK for this new initiative, which is a first for tea estates in Malawi. We hope that the impact of the project will be felt immediately once the new Early Childhood Development Centres are built and ready for use and look forward to helping achieve long term change for families and children, through the wider engagement programme
