Help with Food
A school start is something special.
The pandemic has made this day extra special because many children have been waiting for a new school start for two years. You can help us welcome them back! day of anticipation, butterflies in the stomach, and that feeling of starting a journey.
Imagine you are a seven-year-old in Haiti…
You never went to school, but you watched, a bit jealous, how your siblings leave home in the mornings. You have admired their school uniforms, seen the schoolbooks they brought home, heard the songs they practiced, and listened to every word they shared about the school day.
As you passed the school with your mother, the smells from the school kitchen reached you and made your mouth water. Your parents didn't have enough food that day, but your older siblings got to eat their fill during the school lunch. And now, finally, it's your turn. This is your day.
What adventures await you at the "Star of Hope" school?
Imagine that you are nine years old and live in Jimba in Kenya...
You didn't even have time to start first grade before the authorities ordered all schools to be closed.
Thankfully, your teachers found a solution: "If the children can't come to us, then we can come to the children!"
With face masks, schoolbooks, blackboards, and chalkboards, they set out in villages and slums. There they managed to arrange outdoor lessons with tree canopies as shade and tree trunks as anchor points for their chalkboards. Thanks to their ingenuity, you have been able to learn things even during the pandemic. Now you are ready for grade three - and you will finally get to sit in a real classroom! Finally, you can eat breakfast and lunch in the school kitchen and play with your friends during breaks.
Finally, the wait is over!
Imagine that you are eleven years old and live in Taytay in the Philippines. It's time to start fifth grade…
You love school, but you've been forced to study half of your elementary school years remotely. Those years have been tough - because there is no internet at home. Instead, your parents have had to collect educational materials from the school together with questionnaires. It is your form answers that your teachers have graded for two years. Your parents have tried to help you as best they can, but it was rather you who had to teach them. Unlike you, they never got a chance to graduate.
Every day for two years you have wanted and waited to return to Star of Hope’s school - and today the wait is over.
You will finally get to see your friends again and get all the tutoring help you need!
The school children in Haiti, Kenya, the Philippines, and other countries do not just share a longing to go back to school. They also share the feeling that every school day is a precious gift that cannot be taken for granted, giving them a chance to have a better life than their parents. That thought ignites their hope!
Join us and make the children's first day of school unforgettable! The link takes you to our webshop for school supplies.
by Dennis Thern
Aug 2022
