Our Initiatives
*OVER 1,700 CHILDREN IN SCHOOL *4 STUDENTS NOW IN COLLEGE *1 LIBRARY PROJECT
Because everyone at The Children of Lavié is a volunteer, 100% of money raised goes directly to support children who otherwise would not be able to complete or get an education due to the financial limitations of their families. We are in the field and track the work we do closely. Our newsletter brings our progress report – including the number of children helped – to you, our volunteers and donors, so you can see and review your impact. According to UNESCO, investing$1 in a child’s education will generate $10-$15 in returns adding 2% per capita to economic growth. This means opportunities for the sons and daughters of peasants in the villages such as Lavié and results in economic leverage springing from the bottom up to break the cycle of poverty.
General Financial Assistance
What we do lies in transforming lives from the ground up. As a catalyst for change, education is the tool for that transformation. We are committed to providing financial assistance to allow children to get the education they long for. Through school, the great engine of personal development, the sons and daughters of peasants we help today, can become doctors tomorrow. Empowered by knowledge and economic leverage they take seats at the community’s table and carry on as effective agents of change and development. When you donate you not only take the lead to help affect change. You are helping to lay the first powerful stone of a self-reinforcing cycle aimed at transforming lives from the ground up – all this at a surprisingly small cost, $10 per child for one year. A gift for a child’s education is the noblest gift one can ever give.
Masa Memorial Essay Contest
The Essay Contest is named after co-founder Kofi’s late mother. It is a contest that encourages students to stay in school and further their education. The contest awards between 9 and 26 prizes depending on the availability of funds. Each winner receives a certificate and cash reward to further support their dreams of education. The certificate brings a smile to a child’s face. S/he feels as a winner, which boosts his or her self-esteem as s/he grows more confident in his/her strength and ability to succeed. The cash reward helps to further relieve the financial burden on the parents who see their children’s potential but struggle with the cost of their education.
Library for Lavié
Defenders of intellectual freedom libraries hold incredible promise for our minds. Give as little as $10 to build this library. Your name will be featured on Library’s Donors Wall.*
In the western world, libraries are the world’s most basic resource for advancement of people. Every school has one. Kids have library cards to their local libraries. Students connect to the rest of the world while working on their research assignments. The local business owners do research for their next endeavors. A local humanitarian looks up facts and figures on poverty, disease, malaria, child death and learns ways to prevent them and save lives. Townspeople read books, learn basic computer skills to achieve knowledge & intellectual leverage. Yet in many places such as Lavié people are denied this precious resource. Even schools don’t have libraries.
“Until every child’s dream of access to books & reading, to information & to information technology in a library, that is conducive to learning, is realized…”
Imagine your local school without a library, or your town without a public library. Now, come and walk in the shoes of the folks in Lavié. If your decision to help is unequivocal, that’s how we feel. We have started to build one. At an estimated cost of just $70,000 this first ever library will be built in Lavie. Manpower is fully made available by the supporting community. The library is designed by Li/Saltzman Architects, PC of New York. It provides well over 10,000 square feet for books, periodicals, DVDs, computers, quiet reading areas and meeting spaces. The library will serve as a lending source for books, newspapers and magazines. It will function as a place for students to access information, a community resource that supports the educational and cultural needs for children and teens. Through computers and Internet facilities, townspeople will be linked with the rest of the world for a global learning experience.
(*When we reach this fundraising goal and build the library, we’ll feature all donors’ names on the Donors Wall in the newly built library. We’ll need your name & contact info sent to us. If you don’t wish to be recognized please let us know in writing.)