February 3, 2025 – Sai Durgesh Rajandiran stands out as a dedicated professional committed to making a difference for parents and young children around the world. Her background in parenting, early childhood education, planning, monitoring, and evaluation, prompted her to apply for the Knowledge Fellows program in 2022. The connections she made during her fellowship led to a job which has furthered her ability to contribute to the field.
My experience in the Knowledge Fellows Program was truly transformative. I had the opportunity to create an evidence hub, featuring information about research-based parenting programs for practitioners and implementers for the Global Initiative to Support Parents (GISP). By completing this project, I learned to write for a diverse audience and gained new skills that I continue to use daily in my job and personal pursuits.
Durgesh was interested in the ECDAN Knowledge Fellow Program because she wanted to improve her knowledge about parenting interventions in Southeast Asian countries and build a network with other ECD professionals in the region. Durgesh, a native of Malaysia, was paired with both a local mentor and an international mentor to support her in achieving her goals. She had the privilege of being guided by Professor Dr. Rumaya Juhari from a Malaysian public university and Sabine Rakotomalala from the World Health Organization in Geneva. Their expertise in ending violence against children through parenting provided Durgesh with valuable insights into global best practices, while also expanding her knowledge of regional parenting programs.
During the fellowship, Durgesh connected with Parenting for Lifelong Health, a GISP partner, who later hired her as a Systems Manager in Malaysia. Durgesh now works to drive the national scale-up of a hybrid parenting program through government systems and private education settings, leveraging her regional knowledge and network of experts.
A pilot study of the hybrid parenting program conducted in early 2024 showed promising results in reducing parental stress, child abuse, and behavioral problems among the 151 families in the KEMAS rural preschool system in Malaysia. A majority of caregivers (91.5 percent) rated the program as “very helpful” or “helpful” in improving their relationships with their children. Based on the success of this pilot, discussions are underway with other government agencies to explore the implementation of similar programs within their respective systems.
In May 2024, Durgesh and other members of the Parenting for Lifelong Health team had the opportunity to share their learnings at the Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood conference in Penang Malaysia. This was a great learning and networking opportunity where she also contributed to facilitated discussions with parenting implementors across the region and shared the work of GISP leading up to international parenting month.
Looking toward the future, Durgesh aims to support regional organizations and initiatives to develop a community of practice for parenting within the Southeast Asia region. With the connections, resources, and experience Durgesh is acquiring through her work, she is well on her way to achieving this goal. Be sure to follow Durgesh’s journey as she continues to make strides in her career. We can only imagine the impact she will have on the lives of children and families in the years to come.
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This is the fourth entry in the “From Learning to Leading” blog series profiling former Knowledge Fellows to discover where their journey has taken them.