The Whole Child Initiative is a project dear to my heart.

My long-term study of the chimpanzees of Gombe taught me the importance of early childhood experience in our closest living relatives. The nature of mothering received, the structure of the family into which an infant is born, and the events surrounding the first few years of life may affect adult behavior. And we have good evidence today showing that early experience has a profound effect on development of our own children. Never has this issue been more critical in so many parts of the world than today. The physical environment has been increasingly contaminated by pollution and impoverished if not destroyed by over use and ``development.'' The social environment is plagued by broken families, drugs and alcohol, child abuse, poverty, poor day care, overcrowding, war, the AIDS epidemic and parents who believe that the acquisition of material goods is more important than spending time with their children. One or a combination of the above are the norm for millions of infants at the dawn of the 21st century.

How can we expect children growing up in any of these conditions to become physically and emotionally healthy adults? What kind of help can be provided to children by family or society that will best help them combat these environments? These questions are still being hotly debated by scientists, academicians and politicians.

Meanwhile, out in the field, in all parts of the world, dedicated individuals are providing the answers. There are programs that help infants and young children to thrive, emotionally as well as physically, in the most difficult situations - in inner city ghettos, in poverty stricken rural areas, in refugee camps, among the street children, and so on.

The Whole Child Initiative seeks to learn from these success stories. To share the wisdom of the inspired and compassionate individuals from a variety of backgrounds who have seen a desperate need and, directed by common sense and knowledge of the situation from the inside, rolled up their sleeves, refused to give up and made a difference in the lives of untold numbers of children. The children who will be the citizens of tomorrow.