About Ntsakoblog
'Ntsako' is the South African Xitsonga word for 'joy'. Ntsakoblog is a newsletter designed to educate on and celebrate the joys of childhood and child development. It aims to make different aspects of how a child develops psychologically easier to understand through bite sized issues. Ntsakoblog aims to show the child as a whole individual with their own unique ways of experiencing the world and teach us to see the joy and beauty of going along on that journey with them.
Each month, an issue centred around a single theme concerning childhood will go out. Each theme is divided into four (4) separate topics within that theme each exploring a different element topic within. At the end of the month, each theme is collated into a single downloadable and printable document for further use (following copyright rules). There will also be some reflective pieces now and then looking at different experiences I have had in working with and living around children of various ages.
Ntsakoblog is part of a broader, developing community education initiative called The Botshelo Developmental Science Initiative. To find out more about the initiative, please follow the link to visit the main website.
The Mind Behind
Vutlhari Joy Tlakula, creator of the Botshelo Developmental Science Initiative and Ntsakoblog is a Developmental Scientist and researcher with a masters degree in Brain and Cognitive Development from Birkbeck, University of London. She has a background in Psychology and Anthropology, and extensive experience in community engagement. She is passionate about educating African communities on the intricacies of child development and how practitioners can work together with communities to serve, protect, and support children holistically in a way that is effective, healthy, and sustainable.
Trained in researching and delivering effective, lasting social development impact into various social contexts, she has volunteering experience spanning eight years of working with vulnerable individuals, particularly young children, in multiple and varying social contexts. She also has extensive academic research and social leadership experience. Psychological neurodevelopmental research and sustainable community intervention affecting policy for children living in adversity in Southern Africa are a two of her main professional pursuits. Her main age group of speciality is 0-8 and she studies how displacement, trauma, community, play, adversity and disability affect development. The health, education, and social empowerment of children and their communities and how policies around these matters can be addressed is central to her activities.
Visit Botshelo Developmental Science Initiative Website
Visit the Ntsakoblog Newsletter
Celebrating childhood and development
Growth
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