Cases

Find out more about what we’ve achieved and learned through our work in various parts of the world.

Improving parenting at scale through existing health workers

Visits from community health workers have been shown to have positive effects on the health, nutrition, learning and safety of young children in Peru. The Foundation has been working in… Read more

Advocating Paid Leave for New Dads

Research shows that the father’s presence in the earliest stages of a child’s life is closely related to the amount of involvement they have in the child’s later upbringing. Their… Read more

Digitaf shows how Tel Aviv is prioritising young children

Every child born in Tel Aviv is now sent a Digitaf card. Launched in December 2017, Digitaf – which reads in Hebrew as a pun on ‘digital for toddlers’ –… Read more

Scaling up mother tongue-based preschool in Odisha

In March 2016, the Bernard van Leer Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Women and Child Development Department of the Government of Odisha, an Indian state with a… Read more

The Beginning of Life documentary

Documentary 'The Beginning of Life' - Bernard van Leer Foundation

Available on Netflix and other platforms, and in multiple languages, the documentary The Beginning of Life (O Começo da Vida) emotionally brings to life the science behind the importance of… Read more

Engaging Kids to Make São Paulo's Streets Safer

Case - ENGAGING KIDS TO MAKE SÃO PAULO’S STREETS SAFER - Bernard van Leer Foundation

Children building themselves a tyre swing in a public play space may sound like an unremarkable, everyday event rather than the stuff of headlines. But when this happened in November… Read more

Children are sanitation ambassadors in India

Open defecation is a particular problem for young children in Indian cities such as Bhubaneswar, with unhygienic conditions spreading diarrhoea and other diseases. Women are also at risk of sexual… Read more

Building Africa's first national pre-school system in Kenya

In the 1970s, post-independence Africa focused more on primary education than pre-school. The Foundation worked with the government of Kenya to create a national pre-school system including curriculum, materials and… Read more

Improving nutrition and parenting skills through social enterprise

School children in the Israeli towns of Hura and Migdal Ha'Emek are eating meals provided by the Al Sanabel catering company, a social enterprise set up with the Foundation’s support. Read more

Helping cities make informed decisions on child abuse

For authorities to tackle child abuse effectively, they first need to know the extent of the problem and how well the existing approaches are working. The Foundation supported the Netherlands… Read more