Do the first 1000 days determine the rest of your life? | DeeDee Yates | TEDxWindhoek

Though not many of us know it, a whole lot hinges on our first 1 000 days. This time period is crucial as it affects areas such as physical growth, peer skills as well as emotional and social development.

DeeDee Yates is a recognised world expert focusing on vulnerable children and families
including those affected by HIV and AIDS. Starting in 1985, her passion for children
brought her into the field of early childhood development.


Her career started as the early childhood development coordinator for the Anglican
Church in Namibia, supporting their twenty-five kindergartens in rural areas of northcentral
Namibia as well as in Katutura.


She also helped establish the Children’s
Desk at the Council of Churches and acted as the coordinator from 1990 to 1996. After working for the Ford Foundation in Namibia, she became a full time
consultant.

She has done several studies on the quality of programmes for children in
Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Uganda,
Kenya, and Rwanda, and has several publications. She also has served to the Government of Namibia for several years as a Technical Advisor in Early Childhood Development.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx