Children in Bloom
All Over the World

That is the vision and the mission of The Two Lilies Fund, one of the few donor-advised funds to focus on the growing international field of early childhood mental health.

Research is showing that good mental health during the early years is critical to assuring a person’s lifelong healthy development. (Here at Two Lilies we call that BLOOMING!) Consistent, responsive, and sensitive care from the adults in young children’s lives turns out to be the key. That’s why The Two Lilies Fund strives to shine a spotlight on model projects—in under-resourced parts of the world—that are designed to strengthen the social and emotional development of young children and their caregivers. The Two Lilies Fund also supports a range of early childhood leadership development efforts around the globe—such as higher education opportunities and learning collaborative projects—with the hope that countries will orient the educational and social service systems towards the goal of improving the quality of life during children’s youngest years.

Portraits of Global Early Childhood Leadership

Pioneer Class

(Grantee: The International MA Program in Child Development)

Through candid interviews with students and staff, this short film reveals what it was like to be a member of the first class of students from under-resourced parts of the world to study child development and infant mental health in Haifa, Israel. The students grappled throughout the year not just with new academic material but with difficult memories from childhood and parenthood as they grew into their new role as global advocates for young children.

A Seat at the Table

(Grantee: The Ububele Educational and Psychotherapy Trust)

This film depicts the experience of two infant mental health home visitors from South Africa who traveled for the first time to a global conference to share the model of support that sustains them as they strive to contain the stress and hold up fresh hope for the young families in Johannesburg they serve. Around the world in areas of high violence and trauma, frontline paraprofessionals like Zanele Mokolutlo and Thandiwe Khumalo represent the future of the global social service workforce.

 

The Two Lilies Story

Jane West established The Two Lilies Fund in 2013 in honor of her two worldly and nurturing grandmothers, who both, coincidentally, had the same first name—Lillian Loewenthal (1900-1988) and Lillian West (Lillian West 1910-2017). Many of the core values of the fund are inspired by these two “lilies,” such as an emphasis on building enriching, resilient, and reflective relationships with young children and a love of stories and arts as ways to guide children through the world.

The Two Lilies Fund believes it takes not only a village to raise a child but generations of capable caregivers.

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