Our ambition to transform children’s first 1,000 days in Senegal and beyond

The waking thought for many parents across Senegal is how they will make it through another day with such little income and so little time – juggling long, often-arduous working hours with caring for their children. 

Mealtimes, in particular, bring quiet worry. National statistics show that nearly half of children live in poverty, one in five experiences chronic malnutrition and they are at risk of not reaching their full potential, and just 13% of rural communities have access to clean water. 

Behind every struggling child is a struggling parent – and through our work in Senegal, we know that 750,000 urban families living in our target regions wake up worried every day.

We have both dedicated our careers to helping to change this. Claudia worked for the World Bank for 25 years, and Anna has been a committed nutritionist, social entrepreneur and influencer across West Africa.

Through our professional experience and the time that we have spent listening to communities facing these challenges, we developed the idea of a MindUp (‘Tawfekh’ in Wolof): a community space where parents feel supported to raise their children. 

Alongside child growth monitoring, counselling and parental wellbeing support, we offer classes to support babies’ cognitive development, and teach parents how to prepare nutritious meals.

What started as a safe space to support positive parenting has also evolved into a cooperative care programme – an idea that came from the mothers themselves. While their children are cared for, they can work – and with caring responsibilities considered one of the biggest barriers to women’s employment worldwide, we have helped to transform a barrier into an enabler through supporting such an initiative.

Operating beyond physical spaces 

We have also developed a CISCO Foundation-supported digital solution that enables our work. The system records child and maternal growth measurements and visualises progress. MindUp managers interpret this data and educate parents; assess their understanding of foundational childcare skills; and provide tailored advice on topics such as breastfeeding.

With AI, we can now immediately see whether children or pregnant women are doing well, rather than manually interpreting measurements, helping make operations more efficient. And to ensure we reach those who are often most in need, an offline version is now under development to allow outreach to low-connectivity areas.

This support is critical, as the process of becoming a new parent is a time of high vulnerability – and can have far-reaching impacts on mental, social and physical wellbeing.

Maternal stress occurs frequently and is clinically significant, with around a fifth (21%) of women experiencing anxiety symptoms during their third trimester of pregnancy. 

While this is a universal experience, worries can be exacerbated for those living in environments that lack support. This is a prominent issue across Sub-Saharan Africa, with just 57% of women receiving adequate antenatal care, and just three in ten having access to adequate postnatal care.

Protecting the health and wellbeing of their parents is vital for young children to flourish and ultimately, for societies to prosper

The first 1,000 days of a child’s life, starting at conception, shape their future. Protecting the health and wellbeing of their parents, the most significant influence in their life, is vital for young children to flourish and ultimately, for societies to prosper.

It takes a village

MindUp Tawfekh Keur Jabot was our first neighbourhood hub in Senegal – but we haven’t stopped there. 

Earlier this month, we found out that we had been named one of six winners of the Good Start Challenge: a challenge prize focused on advancing solutions that support the wellbeing of parents of young children. It was initiated by the Van Leer Foundation; supported by FEMSA Foundation, Fundaçāo Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal, and LEGO Foundation; and run by Challenge Works (part of Nesta). 

This challenge has been game-changing for us in so many ways. Last year, we were awarded €50,000 as a finalist of the challenge, which enabled us to not only further our work in Senegal, but to also apply our learnings to other countries in which Heights and Minds Foundation operates: Indonesia, Uganda, Malaysia and India. Now, as winners of the €200,000 award, as well as access to scaling support and expertise, we are focused on expanding our reach to support a more global network of parents. 

Now, as winners of the €200,000 award we are focused on expanding our reach to support a more global network of parents

For us, the saying ‘it takes a village’ couldn’t summarise it better – entire communities must interact, guide and uplift parents to raise children in an environment that betters the next generation and does not leave parents to do it alone.  

Looking ahead, we remain committed to enabling and improving the villages that MindUps provide – a place where parents take time for themselves, children can grow, and care is shared.