The programme to support orphans and children from the poorest families was created hand in hand with the opening of the kindergarten. Our goal from the beginning was to make education accessible to all, regardless of social status or disadvantage. In order to pay the teachers' salaries and the children's food, the children's parents pay a monthly fee. For those who cannot afford even a small tuition fee, we allow them to pay in produce, such as fruit or vegetables from their own gardens. And for those who cannot pay at all, we look for individual supporters in the Czech Republic and abroad. To date, donors have enabled more than 80 children to attend school and kindergarten.
We include those whose biological or surrogate family cannot afford to pay school fees in our programme to support orphans and children from the poorest families. There may be several reasons. Some of the children who have lost one or both parents for various reasons are being raised by grandmothers, neighbours or more distant relatives. The grandmothers simply do not have enough energy to do the hard work, and the neighbours and other relatives do not have enough money. We also have children in the program who have parents. But they are often disabled, both physically and mentally, and it is often impossible for them to do even simple work. In these cases, it is typical that they still somehow manage to provide basic food and survive. However, school fees are beyond their means and the children are left at home. In addition, these children are often exposed to heavy manual labour from an early age.
Our program radically changes children's lives for the better. In addition to a quality education, they receive a quality meal twice daily, which we constantly try to improve. In orphans and the poorest families, it is typical for children to either go hungry at home or eat only one or two ingredients over and over again. There is a complete lack of vitamins of any kind. Often, they also have nowhere to sleep. They sleep on the floor, on chairs or broken chairs. We, therefore, enable sponsors to support their children beyond the school fees by purchasing a sleeping pack. This includes a new mattress, blanket, pillow, sheets and mosquito net. The mosquito net is crucial as it protects the children at night from mosquitoes that carry malaria and other diseases.
In addition to school, the children have the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities such as a dance club or the Unga United FC youth football team. We want to support the children for as long as it takes. We are therefore looking for sponsors who are willing to support their child, if possible, all the way to high school and, who knows, maybe even beyond. However, this commitment is not a requirement.
How does it work?
Our Dolphine and Kennedy coordinators, in collaboration with the local community, will first assess the child's situation and determine if it is indeed such that it makes it impossible for the family to send the child to school. If this is the case, and the child is interested in attending school, they will send the child's details to Honza, who is in charge of this programme within Team Rael. The child will undergo further assessment. For example, we often enquire about his health situation or how he lost his parents. We also find out if he has a place to sleep. Last but not least, we then need to check whether we still have the capacity in the school and kindergarten to accept the child. However, we do not shy away from situations, especially with older children, where it is appropriate for the child to attend another school. Even in this case, we can support the child.A sponsor is sought if the child goes through the whole approval process. We have sponsors mainly in the Czech Republic and the United States, but we can also find them in Slovakia or in Africa itself. If a sponsor agrees to support a particular child, they send the tuition fees for that year, and we issue an order to Kenya that the child is accepted into the program and can start school. The tuition fee is $170 per year. The entire amount goes directly to the child to pay for tuition and board; no one else takes a penny of it.
The sponsorship, which is, in fact, a kind of long-distance adoption, does not have to stop at paying school fees or tuition. If you choose, you can do much more.
What else can you do?
From time to time, it is possible to send a gift to your little girl or boy. This is always possible when a group of volunteers goes to Kenya. For example, stationery, notebooks, pencil cases, other school supplies, toys, clothes, or shoes are suitable. However, the weight of the parcel must not exceed 2 kilos and must clearly state the child's name.Volunteers visit the children in their homes, checking their school attendance and health, delivering gifts and finding out what else they might need. Usually, this is a pair of shoes or a backpack for school, but sometimes, it's a sleeping mattress or a new school uniform.
As a thank you, the children draw pictures for their supporters from time to time, which we then hand over in person or send home. In addition, we are happy to send photos so that you can see for yourself that Kenyan children are also growing up.
Are you interested in joining the programme to support orphans and children from the poorest families? Email us at honza@projektrael.cz.
Would you like to support children but don't want a long-term commitment? Improve the children's diet. On our special e-shop, you can buy them a box of fruit and vegetables, a chicken, a goat and even a cow.