With support from the Bernard Van Leer Foundation, the dRPC launched its ECCD initiatives in 2004, advocating for the creation of a National ECCD policy. Between 2005 and 2009, the organization trained over 100 local teachers, provided assistance to 15 community ECCD centers, and orchestrated two National Dialogues on ECCD, garnering recognition through national newspapers and TV programs.
In 2018, the dRPC expanded its work in the ECCD space with deeper investments in  Kano and Jigawa States as priority states where 40 young female secondary school leavers were supported to establish community based ECCD home based centres targeting nursery aged school children who would otherwise only have attended Quranic schools. The first cohort of 2018 ECCD teachers were 40 female secondary school leavers who had obtained only 1 or 2 subjects, from NECO/WAEC and were unable to transit to post-secondary  education. The young women, burdened with a sense of failure and the anticipation of a limited future marked by early marriage and domestic servitude, were targeted for transformation into entrepreneurs, inspirational teachers, community assets, and advocates for Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD).  Learn More