The children we work with get a free education and food programme but we also want to celebrate them! Be it birthdays, Christmas, Day of the Child, Guatemala Day, Peru Day or whatever other celebrations there are we want to make these children proud of themselves and their country. It is something so simple to say 'Happy Birthday' to someone, who would forget to say that to a loved one, but for these children they don't expect to hear it, so we make sure we say it.
Child malnutrition is often blamed for poor educational results which is why we combine education with nutrition. We work with the communities on education and nutrition but we also work on self confidence and pride. The children don't have a chance to show themselves off, celebrate them or be proud of where they come from leaving them introverted and lacking in confidence, something that will affect them for the rest of their lives.
We celebrate them. There are many celebration days in each country and culture we work in. Traditionally, the communities we work in are from the downtrodden cultures in the country. No-one takes the time to celebrate them but we do and the children are taught to be proud of themselves, their family, their culture and their country. By allowing them to perform, show-off, celebrate and tell their story they grow up into confident, proud, well-rounded individuals really to take on the world
You can educate a child all you like to strive and develop but if they don't have the confidence to go out there and do it, nothing will change. But surrounding the children with a culture of pride and confidence, we are teaching a whole community, over time, through our work and the children's that they can hold their head high and fight for their rights. They need to believe they deserve equality, good jobs, a better way of live, then they will go and get it.
