Author: International Children's Trust

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Leading the efforts to improve learning outcomes for orphans.

Zimbabwe

This out-of-school programme in South Harare, offers accelerated learning for primary school children who have not attended school by the age of nine or who have dropped out before completing primary education. The centre also welcomes secondary school aged children that have failed to progress from primary to secondary school and those that dropped out before completing their secondary education.

In March and prior to the Covid-19 lockdown, one hundred and five primary learners (48 girls – 57 boys) and sixty eight secondary learners (37 girls – 31 boys) were enrolled on the programme. The school was initially designed to take between fifteen to thirty pupils per year but due to the current economic hardships in Zimbabwe, more and more children are in need of support. This year, fifteen pupils are expected to sit for the National Ordinary Level examinations and four for the National Advanced Level examinations, giving the children the opportunity to re-integrate into mainstream education. 

To comply with the new curriculum introduced by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education in 2017, the school urgently needs to improve educational outcomes for these children. This is being done through increasing the number of staff and providing training for them, supplying new teaching/learning materials  and improving the quality of classroom furniture. Thanks to the kind support of the Rotary Club of Coventry, we have purchased materials and furniture for the school which include single desks and chairs for the classroom and textbooks for both learners and teachers.

Under lockdown guidelines, teachers have continued to follow and prepare home assignments for pupils who will sit for public examinations in November. They were encouraged to go to the centre twice a week to meet up with their teachers and submit or collect their assignments. Pupils have also continued to have access to the school resource centre for reading materials. 

By promoting learning opportunities and offering access to quality and inclusive education, the school is expected to go a long way in improving learning outcomes for orphans and poor children.

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Children’s education ‘on hold’ during the Coronavirus lockdown.

India

No major activities were planned at Boys Town Gummidipoondi during March, due to final examinations taking place. Regrettably, because of the subsequent curfew and lockdown, the examinations for students in the 6th, 9th, 10th and 11th Standards were cancelled and seventy two students had to return home to live with their parents/guardians. The 12th Standard examinations took place on the 24th of March, when the country’s lockdown was announced so ten students had to remain at the village with staff. Food and essential items were made available to them and everyone remained in good health and followed their usual routines. The students were also able to spend time in the grounds engaged in gardening activities and housekeeping tasks took place in the evenings. They have since been able to return home.

In June, the Government of Tamil Nadu announced the cancellation of public examinations for all students in the 10th and 11th Standards and declared that they have “passed” their examinations. The 12th Standard exam results should be out soon.

Sri Lanka

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, schools and pre-schools have remained closed, including our ‘Saplings’ pre-school in Ratmalana. Before lockdown, teachers managed to visit most of the families and gave workbooks to the children so that their parents could help them at home. Staff remain in regular contact with the families by telephone. Until the lockdown, there were twenty nine children attending the project – sixteen girls and thirteen boys aged between three and five years.

The Government has made a decision to reopen pre-schools on July 1st.

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A Success Story from the Chiedza Out of School Programme in Zimbabwe

Nina’s parents separated when she was still a child. She continued living with her mother who struggled to pay for her school fees. When she was in Year 6 her mother remarried and her stepfather forbade her from working. Sending Nina to school became more and more difficult as her mother had to keep her work a secret when she did several part-time jobs. She could only afford to pay for her to attend school for two days a week so Nina spent the other days helping her mother at work. In 2015, the financial struggles became too burdensome for her mother and when she was in Year 11 at school, Nina dropped out before she could sit for her final examinations. After a year of no schooling, she was identified by a Chiedza Community Volunteer in her area, who referred her to the organisation. Their volunteers and officers made home visits to assess Nina’s level of need and she was given the chance to return to school through the Chiedza Out of School Programme.

Nina describes how Chiedza helped her:

“The organisation supported my studies and I sat for the Ordinary Level examinations and did well. I was then helped to progress to Advanced Level studies at a High School. Chiedza continued to pay for my examination fees and school fees and I was provided with free stationery. Via the Resource Centre, I was able to access  school text books and had free internet access, which helped me to do a lot of research for my studies. I also had access to a digital learning platform from which I was able to practise exercises, tests and notes. At the same time, I gained basic computer skills through the structured computer lessons offered by the Resource Centre Intern. In addition, I benefited from free counselling services from the Child Protection Department, as well as career guidance, which helped me to think about my future career interests and to build goals and set targets for myself. Every weekday, I received two nutritious meals from the food programme. I also received clothes donated by well-wishers. 

The English Access Programme run by the American Embassy at Chiedza Child Care Centre boosted my English communication skills as well as my leadership skills, which Chiedza had nurtured through the Child Advisory Board in 2016. Recreational activities organised by the Centre also helped me to develop my social skills. Having passed my Advanced level exams with 8 points in History, Sociology and Shona, I am waiting to go to university in August of this year. It is my desire to be a social worker and to help other children access basic services that they may not be able to access without the assistance of other people. I want to be able to help other children in the way that Chiedza has helped me and to contribute towards the happiness of less privileged children and to create a prosperous Zimbabwe. I envisage a Zimbabwe where all children are happy, empowered and can fully enjoy their rights without the limitations of being less privileged.”

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Update on the ‘Beoogo Tienbo’ Nursery School in Burkina Faso

Beoogo Tienbo is a walled village developed as a shelter for young women and children by our partner Keoogo. It is situated in an area 17km north of the capital Ouagadougou in District 9. The project offers a nursery school which is open to children living in the shelter with their mothers, as well as to children from the surrounding community.

The school is equipped with three large classrooms, a hall for afternoon snacks, a toilet block, a sports field, a sand pit, two swings, a slide, a climbing frame and two climbing horses. The kitchen of the shelter provides afternoon snacks for the children. The school is currently run by a trained nursery nurse and a nursery assistant.

The school welcomes children from 3 to 6 years of age and follows the French education system. The children are divided into ‘petite section’ (PS: 3-year-olds), ‘moyenne section’ (MS: 4-year-olds) and ‘grande section’ (GS: 5-year-olds). For the academic year 2019-2020, two levels are functioning: The ‘petite section’ and the ‘moyenne section’. The ‘grande section’ will open for the academic year 2020-2021. 

Thanks to the kind support of the Austin Bailey Foundation and other donors, we have purchased materials for the ‘petite section’ and the ‘moyenne section’ – which include 305 educational booklets for reading, maths, handwriting, drawing and painting; sixteen art kits and games, three musical instruments and two footballs.

The school has now been officially authorised by the Burkinabe Governor of the Centre Region. In addition, in January 2020, it was examined and approved by the Basic Education School Board of Ouagadougou.

Of the 52 children currently attending the school, 30 of them are street children now living in the shelter with their mothers. 

Three testimonies from parents of children enrolled at the nursery school

“My two boys are enrolled at the Keoogo nursery school in the ‘petite’ and ‘moyenne’ sections and I am very happy that they are there. In this school the teachers are friendly and professional. They are very attentive to the children and provide a family-friendly and warm welcome every day. It has met my expectations and since my boys have been going to this school, I have noticed changes in their behaviour. For example, they are more careful about the rules of personal hygiene and are more polite in their speech- saying “please dad” and “please mum” more often. I’m very proud of them.”

“Our daughter joined the nursery school in October 2019. To be honest, we have never seen her so motivated to go to school. She runs there every morning and is happy to see her friends and teachers. We have noticed that our daughter enjoys making things through play and learning to read. We really appreciate the teachers at the school as they are very good with all the children. We are truly very happy to have enrolled our daughter at the Keoogo nursery.”

“Following the closure of failing schools by the Burkinabè government, our daughter’s school was closed down. However, we were fortunate enough to find her a place at the Keoogo nursery school. Our daughter had spent a whole academic year at her previous school and having had that experience, we can clearly see that the Keoogo nursery school is very good and has exceeded our expectations. Everything that is done in this school contributes to the development of the child. The teachers are professional and in tune with the needs of each child. I also like the fact that the school has a place for singing and my daughter happily hums the songs she has learned at school, at home. She is well integrated and expresses herself well. She loves drawing and colouring and even questions people about the hygiene rules she has learned at school. I think that  Keoogo should open a primary school.”

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A Success Story from our Sponsorship Programme at JUCONI Ecuador

Antonio was contacted by JUCONI four years ago when he was nine years old and was working on a bus. He lived with his parents and five brothers in a small house located in one of the neighbourhoods with the highest rate of violence in the city of Guayaquil.

Antonio had to work to contribute financially to the household, because his father did not have a regular job and his mother was unemployed. When JUCONI started working with Antonio’s parents, it became clear that his father was putting a lot of pressure on his son to help the family and to achieve good grades at school. When this did not happen, Antonio’s father resorted to physical punishment and his mother was not able to protect Antonio or her other children. This resulted in Antonio becoming defensive and more aggressive towards his classmates and friends in the neighbourhood. 

It took a little more than three years for the family to progress through the JUCONI intervention programme. Antonio stopped working and his attendance and progression at school improved considerably. The violence at home has ceased and his parents have become more affectionate towards their children. They now also monitor their progress more closely at school.

As part of being on the programme, Antonio was encouraged to participate in the activities taking place in the shared play spaces set up by JUCONI. In these spaces he learned to play a variety of games that encouraged him to reflect on his behaviour by respecting rules and showing more consideration for others. The relationship between him and his father has improved and they spend more time together at weekends.

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News of a Former Sponsored Student at the Boys Town Project in India

We were delighted to hear more about how our sponsorship scheme with the Rotary Club of Madras has enabled children to gain access to education and achieve a great deal as a result.

Aariv was sponsored through ICT and studied at Boys Town from 2002-2012. During his first year at the school, his father passed away, leaving his mother to care for him and his two siblings. Thanks to his sponsorship and free access to education, Aariv became the first student to graduate in Electrical Engineering from Boys Town. After that he was employed as an Instructor on vocational training courses. Currently he is working as an Assistant Electrical Engineer for an electrical contracting company in Dubai and is earning a good salary. He also continues to support students at Boys Town by paying their Higher Education fees. On February 10th 2020 Aariv got married, and he and his family are very happy and grateful for the support that they received in helping him to have access to an education and a career. 

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Improving Health Services for Street Children and their Families in Mexico

JUCONI Mexico is refurbishing two rooms to improve the services delivered by their health clinic located at the JUCONI Youth House. Children of  between 6-18 years of age and their families will benefit from access to better medical care, including those from the Street-Children Sub-Programme in Puebla. From January to June 2019, the programme took care of approx. 140 people, including children, teenagers and their families. 

The refurbishment is expected to be completed by the end of May 2020.

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A Caring Gift from the Rotary Club of Luton

In January 2020 our CEO gave a lunch-time presentation to members of the Rotary Club of Luton about the work of ICT and then more specifically, details of the ‘Saplings Pre-School Project’ at SERVE in Sri Lanka. Thanks to this project, children from impoverished communities and of three-four years of age, will have the opportunity to prepare for primary school education.

Afterwards, the president of the club, Kelly Blankley, presented us with a generous donation towards the work of ‘Saplings’. Through ICT, members of the club have been sponsoring the education of disadvantaged children in Sri Lanka for many years and we are very grateful that they have kindly decided to support this new programme. We would also like to thank all those present for making the session an enjoyable occasion.

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The ‘Saplings’ pre-school in Sri Lanka

Our work continues in Sri Lanka and we have pleasure in sharing news about a SERVE project for pre-school children called ‘Saplings’. Currently, there are 38 students aged between 3 – 4 years old from low income families in the Tamil community of  Ratmalana.

This pre-school is housed within the premises of the Hindu College Ratmalana. Our contact at SERVE was asked by the school to start this project because there were no pre-schools catering for low income children studying in Tamil in the area. The pupils will start Grade 1 of primary school when they are five years old and be entitled to free education.

Adithi is currently attending Saplings pre-school. She is five years old and joined the school in May 2018. Sadly, her father passed away in 2016. Her mother is a seamstress and she is the one taking care of Adithi and her elder brother.

When Adithi joined the pre-school she was shy and lacked confidence but now she is actively participating in school work. She is very good at drawing and is learning and using a wide range of numbers and letters in English and Tamil. We are happy to report that she is progressing to primary school at the Hindu College in January 2020. 

This SERVE pre-school project is the only opportunity for these children to develop their literacy, numeracy and social skills in order to be ready to start primary school at five years of age and help them to achieve their potential in the future.

Every gift, of any amount, helps to keep us close to these children so that they have a better chance of overcoming barriers to learning and the right to fulfil their dreams. So please help us to continue to be there for them. Donate now.

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A warm-hearted gift from King Henry VIII School

A huge thank you to the sixth formers of King Henry VIII School in Coventry for their warm-hearted donation.

Milla and Daya presented our CEO, Wahiba Kiared, with an unexpected gift during a lunch hosted by the Rotary Club of Coventry. They both explained how with their fellow students they came together and organised an especially successful bake sale. In just one day these young people have raised an impressive £1,400. Thanks to their generosity £700 of the money raised has been donated to ICT to support the education of orphaned children living in Harare, Zimbabwe.

We love hearing about what young people do to support causes that matter to them. Milla and Daya’s initiative was inspired and praised by their assistant head of sixth form and cooking teacher Anna Heathcote. Fundraising is a great opportunity to get creative and do good but also to develop social awareness and emotional skills. Thank you Anna, Milla and Daya for your gift. This will go a long way to support the out-of-school programme in Zimbabwe.

You can join King Henry VIII School today and start raising money for children living in the most challenging environments in the world. Please get in contact if you need resources or if you want to know how your donation can make a difference.

THANK YOU