One-quarter of the more than 1.7 million Venezuelan migrants residing in Colombia are children.[1] At the same time, over one-third of displaced Colombians in 2021 were children and adolescents.[2] While the Colombian government has attempted to integrate displaced Venezuelan and Colombian migrant children into the education system more fluidly, many still do not have access to quality early childhood education at schools and learning centers.[3] This has the potential to prevent them from properly developing in important areas for the future such as numeracy and social-emotional learning. 

Researchers are implementing a randomized evaluation to assess the impact of a video education program produced by Sesame Workshop called “Watch, Play Learn” on improving math skills and social-emotional learning skills of children aged 4. In the program, caregivers receive links to two ten-minute videos per week via WhatsApp to show to their children at home. A total of 1,000 Venezuelan migrant and Colombian households in Barranquilla and Soledad are participating in the intervention.

Results of this project will be available later in 2023.

Sources

1. UNHCR Staff, “Colombia — 2020 year-end report —  Population trends,” UNHCR, Accessed December 9, 2022, https://reporting.unhcr.org/node/15292#:~:text=More%20than%201.7%20million%20Venezuelans,children%20and%2037%25%20were%20youth

2. UNHCR Staff, “Colombia,” UNHCR, Accessed December 9, 2022, https://reporting.unhcr.org/colombia

3. UNESCO Staff, “Significant efforts by Colombia ensure that nearly 200,000 Venezuelan children and youth have access to the educational system,” UNESCO, May 25, 2022, https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/significant-efforts-colombia-ensure-nearly-200000-venezuelan-children-and-youth-have-access