Our Approach

Initiated in 1989 as a development organisation focussing on the eradication of child labour, MAYA (Movement for Alternatives and Youth Awareness) has gradually consolidated its experiences and reflections to understand and address systemic causes of child labour; instead of only addressing local manifestations of these causes. The organisation's related experience with issues of poverty and empowerment further enabled a richer and more realistic understanding of socially and economically disadvantaged communities and the role of other stakeholders.

MAYA perceives early child care as processes to be facilitated in exploring the child's care and learning needs in the context of their family and community, beginning with the understanding and practice of ECCE in each community. A core value of this process is building on the capacities of the community to articulate and directly address the needs of its children; a strength that is otherwise undermined by schemes that treat communities as mere recipients of external largesse. These assumptions and values define the framework of MAYA's approach for facilitating ownership among communities to effectively respond to the community's need.

In emphasising the role of secondary stakeholders as facilitators – who respect cultural diversity and build on community capacities - MAYA takes into cognisance that it is not helpful to have romanticised views of the ways families and communities operate. In today's scenario of pressing economic demands and increasing insecurity of work, neglect of children in socially and economically disadvantaged communities is not uncommon. For interventions to truly impact children's well-being, there is a need therefore to understand these contextual realities and support communities in finding an appropriate balance between what exists and what they aspire for their children.

The organisation holds that for ECCE to be facilitated on a model of scale that is appropriate to the specific context and need, it necessitates an approach with which to redefine the role and relationships between different stakeholders through the formation of new institutional arrangements.

In doing so, what is represented is not a zero-sum relationship between the State and communities. Rather, it goes beyond either a lesser role of the State or a condition where the state merely provides inputs within its existing bureaucratic framework, leaving the rest to be addressed by the community. Instead, what is proposed is a mutually-reinforcing relationship between various stakeholders that transcends traditional boundaries and terms of engagement mired in their inherent social and political inequities; rather forging a synergistic engagement, within a non-statal public sphere – a space that represents a truly democratic alternative instead of merely an either/or role of the stakeholders.

In order to actualise this understanding and experience, the organisation has identified the significance of engendering such an institutionalised process of ownership for early childhood care and education to be addressed in a dynamic and relevant manner, with various stakeholders engaged in a continuous process of action and reflection.

Another key element governing MAYA's approach to early childhood care and education is its perspective of learning . It is believed that the present-day ‘expert' paradigm and the corresponding emphasis on knowledge-transfer and rote-learning limits and, most often, prevents individuals from identifying and building their capabilities. Instead, as the organisation's experience has demonstrated, when communities articulate their collective vision of education, the fabric of learning shifts from one of static knowledge to one that is contextually appropriate and therefore dynamic.