Education projects to be sponsored

Education is part of a child's fundamental rights so that he can hold his future in his own hands.

The Enfants du Monde's sponsorship programme reflects the objective for the sustainability of our actions. Indeed, it takes time to set up quality education projects and it cannot be planned as an isolated humanitarian action.

A sponsorship comes fully into play in this medium-term accompaniment of our education projects after at least one year and becomes an essential support to numerous children and their families.

Your support will become a reality and you will recognise the usefulness of your gesture when you receive a news bulletin twice a year about the activities undertaken and the progress of the projects you support.

Examples of our education projects:

HAITI

NIGER

GUATEMALA

HAITI – To offer a quality education to disadvantaged children

Will St-Louis, 15 years old, has 5 brothers and one sister and his parents live primarily on farming. He has been attending the Macary de Café community school south of Haiti, since the age of 5. He has just entered the 3rd cycle. Will dreams of becoming an engineer. « I would like to become a defender of the environment, » he says with eyes full of hope. « Now when we return from school we meet people whose work is free range breeding and we talk to them about what we know about the consequences of this practice on the environment. »

The context:

There are not enough state schools in Haiti to meet the needs of the children, there are even fewer qualified teachers , the curriculum does not give enough consideration to the bilingualism of the region (Creole and French) nor the local realities, which creates desertion and academic failure .

As a result the state schools, which are almost exclusively financed by the parents, are accommodating almost 80% of the country's children in education, mainly the rural or marginalised population. As for the children whose parents cannot pay the fees of these schools, they will not only not receive a basic education but very often they will have to go to work instead .

The Project:

In collaboration with the Group of Research and Intervention in Alternative Education (GRIEAL), which consists of qualified professionals who have a thorough knowledge of the Haitian education environment, Enfants du Monde supports the development of an educational experience aimed at improving the educational content and approach of 10 community primary schools in the district of Jacmel, which includes almost 3,200 children. Particular attention is given to the schooling of girls and to facilitate the continuation of studies beyond that of a primary education for the children who want to.

Enfants du Monde's role:

In collaboration with its partner, and thanks to its team of specialists in the field of education, EdM intervenes not only in the financing of the project but also in the development of the educational programme , the training and the educational support for the teachers, as well as in the design, development, evaluation and publication of didactic materials for the children.

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NIGER – The school for a second chance

Oumoulkayrou Yacouba, 12 years old: "My mother is a housewife. It is the first time that I am at school. I am very happy. Later I want to become a dressmaker."

The context:

70% of the children in Niger do not go to primary school and according to UNICEF 61% of the families live off the equivalent of one Swiss Franc per day. The formal education system is unsuitable and the topics of education are far removed from the realities of the families and the communities. Furthermore, the lessons are given in French, which is not the children's mother tongue. All of this explains the high drop-out rate and academic failures, the disinterest of the children and the distrust of their parents towards school.

The Project: The Niger Organisation of Innovative Educators (ONEN) is at the origin of the pilot scheme "School for a second chance" which aims at contributing to the improvement of the quality of education as well as at increasing the access to education in Niger. It is aimed at children aged 9 to 13 years, who have left school early or have never gone to school, its purpose is to provide them in for 4 years with the basic skills of the first 5 years of elementary education (reading, writing, arithmetic and sciences) in order to give them the opportunity to return to the state school at lower secondary level. This project has been implemented in the urban community of the capital Niamey and reaches 212 children from the underprivileged surrounding districts.

Enfants du Monde's role:

Enfants du Monde participated in developing the approach and the educational content of the project, which started in 2005 before supporting the opening and running of 5 "Schools for a second chance". Beyond financing the project, Enfants du Monde equally works at getting the local authorities to recognise this educational approach. Finally, Enfants du Monde collaborates in the evaluation of this pilot scheme so that in the long term it can be spread to other communities.

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GUATEMALA – A quality education for the Maya children

One of the pupils at the secondary school says: "The school teaches us about the knowledge that comes from our cultures or about our ancestors and our origins. It is also positive that our lessons include craft or manual work."

Victor Humberto Quib Oxom, 21 years old, a former pupil of the school at Peña Blanca and student at the Institute of natural of Cobàn: "I hope to continue my studies and become a forest engineer to be able to help and train others. Continuing with our studies helps us gain more knowledge, more experiences and therefore make us more useful. It would be great if Enfants du Monde could continue to support us: access to education is what allows to develop."

The context:

Guatemala is a young country, the majority of its population are indigenous and live in rural areas, unfortunately the national education system ignores their needs. The majority of the schools are in the cities and certain rural zones do not even receive any support for education. Furthermore, Spanish is generally the language that is taught and used for teaching, the result is that 80% of the native population is illiterate and the teaching is unsuitable, even pointless for those who receive it.

The Project: The Maya education project of Enfants du Monde started in 2001, implemented in partnership with the local association Xch'ool Ixim, every year offers 300 Maya Q'eqchís children access to a primary education with bilingual teaching adapted to their culture , in order to improve their prospects of personal development and integration into the Guatemalan society. The project also offers secondary level education to approximately 50 children a year , whilst always respecting an alternation between schooling weeks and weeks off so that the children are free to help their parents with their farming work.

Enfants du Monde's role:
Thanks to its team of specialists in the field of education, Enfants du Monde supports the training of the instructors of these schools, and also in the design of educational programmes and the development of appropriate didactic material, stressing Maya culture. Beyond financing the project, Enfants du Monde supports its local partner Xch'ool Ixim in the involvement and networking of players working in the field of education, notably the State, in order to share the experience with other Maya communities.

More information: article published in the information bulletin, august 2007 (french version)