This program focuses on helping children from the most impoverished families in a community, who for a variety of reasons are unable to attend school. Some lack even the most basic necessities, such as food and shelter, because of their poverty. We currently support 150 kids in our ACTS program.
Working with the community leaders, school teachers, and the local church we look to address both the immediate needs and underlying symptoms that hinder children from going to school. By treating the immediate needs such as a child’s school supplies (uniforms, books, stationery), tuition and nutrition, children will have a better chance of graduating from the current system. Treating the underlying symptoms, such as family income security, understanding and valuing education, as well as educational resources and infrastructure, we believe will provide greater access and opportunity for young people to receive a good education in the first place.
Taking a holistic approach, we work with families who are in villages also receiving assistance from our clean water program and livelihood training. We supply children with a school pack and fund Extra Tuition Classes four days a week, to help children who have fallen behind. Teachers are encouraged with more resources and extra training. Beneficiaries include: HIV positive children or those whose families are affected by HIV/AIDS, children in the labour force (e.g. working the farm with their parents), school dropouts, children who have experienced some sort of trauma, and children who come from families that live below the poverty line.
In 2018 we ran two series of workshops across six villages. Partnering with the Department of Women’s Affairs, we trained over 300 parents on topics such as, good communication with children, health and nutrition. We aim to shift parenting strategies and mindsets to teach the value of education and to stop using violence and bad language. The parents who attended were very happy with the new information and we plan to conduct more parent workshops in 2019.
Low income is one of the main reasons for students to not attend school, so we visit every students home regularly to encourage parents to continue to send their kids to school.
Similar to Sunday School, Happy Club is a weekly program where our staff share Bible stories, memory verses, play games, and incorporate health education. Every week we have up to 200 kids attend across eight villages. The kids love the interaction together and our staff enjoy the program.
Following the divorce of her parents, 16 year old Sreymey moved in with her aunty and uncle. The $5 they earn each day has to support the whole family and so Sreymey soon came under pressure to leave school and find a job. “I was so sad because I love studying” Sreymey says. But staff from ACTS came alongside Sreymey and convinced her family about the advantages of staying in school. Now with her education secured, Sreymey hopes to achieve her dream of becoming a nurse.