Sponsor a student: Schoolsponsorship program

It is our firm belief that a good education opens the doors to a better future for disadvantaged children. However, an education costs money and remains out of reach for children whose parents simply do not have enough finances. These are often the children who have to work to provide for their parents, as well as younger brothers and sisters. They scavenge for recyclable garbage or they make charcoal.

But children should not have to work like this; they should be able to play and learn. Their childhood should help them prepare for their future, in a healthy and happy way.

Young Focus gives these children the opportunity to do this by sponsoring their education. From elementary school right up to finding a job, we want to do everything possible to discover and develop the children’s talents. Our goal for the children is that they be given ample opportunity mentally, socially, spiritually and intellectually to develop into healthy adults, without the scars of child labor and abuse.

Children are therefore sponsored through elementary school (6 years), high school (4 years) and college, university or vocational training (2 to 4 years depending on the academic level).

These children’s families have to deal with many social and financial problems. By equipping both the children and their parents during the school years, Young Focus helps increase their chance of breaking free from the vicious the cycle of poverty.

What does Young Focus do specifically?
Individual sponsoring and coaching form the basis of what Young Focus does to help young people from squatter areas. This approach consists of:

Financial support to cover school expenses
Use of the Student Center
Individual (educational) coaching, social and medical assistance
Extra education, training and workshops
Entrepreneurship

1. Financial support to cover school expenses

Elementary school: Young Focus provides basic items such as uniforms, shoes, schoolbags, pens, notebooks, as well as school fees and expenses for special projects.
High school: high school students have the same kind of school needs as the elementary students, only the costs are a bit higher.
College/ university/ vocational training: Even higher expenses are involved in the young people who go on with further education. Tuition fees, basic school supplies and transport costs are much higher.

2. Use of the Student Center (more information...)

Computers: students can use the computers at the Student Center to do homework or work on school projects.
Library: students have an extensive library of reading and educational material at their disposal.
Study area: the Student Center provides a quiet area for students to work.
Relax: the center is also a place to ‘hang-out' with friends and have fun (play chess, make music, etc).

3. Individual (educational) coaching, social and medical assistance

Individual: mentors and social workers focus on the educational and personal problems of the students.
Family: social workers focus on the social and practical issues that may arise (can the family afford it if the child goes to school instead of working and earning money).
Medical care: Young Focus works together with local organizations such as WE International to make sure that all children are regularly examined and receive medical care if needed.

4. Extra education, training and workshops

English and mathematics: most children are behind in these subjects even when they go to school. Yet these subjects are of vital importance for any education in the Philippines.
Life skills training: Young Focus mentors the children on such things as fundamental social skills and career choices through workshops, camps and individual coaching.

5. Entrepreneurship

Training: some children are too old to go to school but have only had a few years of elementary school; some have had to drop out of school because of the circumstances are home. These young people are tutored in English as well as maths, and are trained in the setting up a business as an alternative to scavenging through garbage or making charcoal.
Investment: after their business coaching *), Young Focus then invests a certain amount of starting capital so that these young people can actually begin their own business.

*) This project is run in partnership with the Child@Venture foundation

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Children dirty and black from making charcoal.
The girl looking into the camera is 12 years old and has never been to school… not even elementary school…

Charcoal making is also done on the garbage dump, in a specially ‘reserved’ area. The children living in this charcoal area are not only always covered in black, but are also having to breath in the ever-present smoke.

The boy on the far right is only 4 years old. He has to get the wood ready for burning and making into charcoal. The nails have to be pulled out of the wood, then the wood needs to be sorted in different piles.

A big bag of charcoal sells for about € 4.50. That’s a bag about one meter high and 50 cm wide.
These bags are sold to a wholesaler or on the market. It’s very dirty and unhealthy work.

Each day many garbage trucks empty their contents onto the garbage dump Smokey Mountain 2.
Young and old collect the glass, metal and plastic, which is then sold to the recycling industry.

Children and teenagers – who should actually be at school – scavenge through the garbage of the better off, which is dumped on Smokey Mountain. With one day of work you can earn a couple of euros.

One of our team was talking here with a ‘child-scavenger’ as she worked on the dump. This talk eventually resulted in her being sponsored. See here for a photo of her graduation when she finished elementary school in 2010.

You find the ‘best’ garbage when you’re the first. These children swarm onto the garbage trucks even before they dump the garbage. They then have more chance of getting ‘better quality’ garbage.

Very occasionally valuable things are found amongst the garbage, but the children know this rarely happens. The pick used by the children to sort through and collect the garbage is called a ‘kalahig’ in Filipino.

When children are sponsored and can enjoy a good education they have the opportunity to learn a skill and develop their talents. Young Focus tackles child labor by offering education instead.

Although elementary and high school education is (basically) free, the students face financial limitations while attending school because of all the extra expenses involved. They also face the reality of having no place to do their homework.

So Young Focus has a Student Center where the students can make use of a library, computer room, study room, as well as different classrooms for extra tutorials and workshops.

The Student Center has a computer room where the students can do their homework, and learn how to use the computer. It’s open 6 days a week.

On a weekly basis the 3 different levels (elementary, high school and college/university) come together as a group to talk about problems they may be facing at school or at home. There’s a Student Coordinator for each level.

Teenagers who have barely had any education, but are ‘too old’ to go back to school, are given the opportunity to set up their own business. Here these Out of School Youth present their mobile hamburger cart and a snack bar (in background).

Coaching and sponsoring the children is not possible without the support of the parents. Regular meetings are held to encourage and involve the parents; most of them have had very little education themselves.

Once a year if possible Young Focus takes all the students away on camp! This is a tremendous experience for the young people as they are hardly ever able to leave the city… The camp is also a great opportunity to learn life skills.

Workshops, training sessions, life skills, creative workshops, tutorials… these are activities to encourage the students to grow in their talents. These students receive awards after winning a competition in creative writing (English!)