Welcome Trustees!
We’re really pleased that you have taken the time to visit and hope that this page helps you to see how you can make a difference in the lives of children around the world by helping them to receive a quality academic and vocational education.
This page is specific to you for your information and is not public. We have brought together the information we think you will find most useful and interesting to inform your decision making when you consider whether you would like to support our project. We hope that you will explore and see how your support can help end poverty through education.
Please feel free to browse our website when you reach the end!
Who are we?
World Villages for Children supports the education programmes of the Sisters of Mary to run live-in schools for the most deprived boys and girls across the world. We provide equitable access to education for boys and girls and fund school places and all the daily care needed for nearly 20,000 of the world’s most deprived children each year. We work in the Philippines, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Brazil, and Tanzania.
We provide quality academic and vocational education to children who cannot otherwise afford or access quality education due to poverty, lack of adequate provision, distance, and many other barriers.
Quality academic education
Our academic programmes are accredited by the national education authorities in each country. We are able to deliver a high quality of academic education thanks to the provision of teaching materials, good teacher training, class sizes conducive to improved academic outcomes, and well-equipped classrooms to facilitate the needs of every child. A big focus of our programmes is addressing gender inequality in education by championing girls in their education in all areas – with an emphasis on STEM. Girls remain at a big disadvantage in many of the countries we operate in and so providing equitable access for girls is vitally important for their future earning potential.
Vocational training
Alongside a strong academic foundation, the children learn vocational and “soft” social skills they need to find employment, gain confidence and self-respect. Above all they experience the joy of a childhood free from the worries of poverty. And every child is given the chance of a future free from poverty for themselves and their loved ones.
Our children learn invaluable vocational skills like bread and pastry making, electronics, carpentry, auto mechanics, sewing and tailoring and many more. These vocational courses which are tailored to the skill needs of local employers ensure that every child can find employment as soon as they graduate. With decent work and a good income, they are empowered to help themselves and their families.
What make our programmes unique - more than just academic education
The Sisters of Mary’s care and service to the poor takes a holistic approach to the care and education of every child.
The wrap-around support we provide is unique. In school, a child’s every need is satisfied. From good nutrition to healthcare, a safe place to sleep, quality education, and social development, they lack for nothing.
The children live in family groups at school under the care of a Mother-Sister who ensures that they have everything they need outside of the classroom. These family groups give children a sense of belonging and a place to form bonds of friendship with their peers as they live life together.
Delivering quality education and care
The Sisters of Mary deliver the programmes in-country and we work closely with them to raise funds to support the humanitarian education programmes. It’s a warm and profoundly collaborative partnership based on mutual trust and respect that has worked well since 1996.
The Sisters encourage the children to pursue sport, hobbies, and the arts, to benefit their physical and mental health. They use this time to learn something they really enjoy, like music, dance, or art. These creative subjects in school and in their free time give the children space to explore their talents as well as reinforcing their cultural identity by learning their national dance style or an art form specific to their region. Art and dance also help children recover from trauma in their early lives.
Who are these programmes for?
The Sisters welcome any child living in extreme poverty regardless of religion, gender or race. Under their care the most deprived boys and girls enjoy an accredited, value-led education that provides a sound framework for the development of capable, independent and empowered adults.
We support children like those pictured left in Kikombo, Tanzania, where classrooms in government schools hold up to 100 children with only one teacher, and many do not have even one full meal a day. Our programmes provide the food they need every day and fully equipped classrooms with a good student to teacher ratio to give them quality education.
The Sisters are uniquely placed with over 60 years’ experience and a strategic expertise to care for children from the poorest communities in their programmes. Their skill and agile response to need makes them extremely qualified to provide the best possible education and care.
Making education sustainable
The programmes are modestly run and we work towards 9 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs). The programmes deliver enormous economies of scale in the care of the children and significant long-term, sustainable impact on poverty relief in the communities and countries where they operate. Graduates from the programmes go on to give back to their families and communities, in what we call the multiplier effect. Because of one child’s education, entire families and communities are transformed.
Our appeal
You can be a part of providing the essential building blocks of quality education that provides children from extreme disadvantage with the tools they need to thrive. As a smaller charity, we believe that our work deserves to be seen and heard because of the scale of delivery and the impact it makes on children’s lives. So far over 170,000 children have graduated from school, qualified and ready for employment.
Can you help us?
Our partners tend to support with two types of grants – either a restricted grant for a specific project, or by giving an unrestricted grant. An unrestricted grant simply means that the funds go to where the need is greatest and to provide the essential everyday needs for our children including:
- Three meals a day
- Clothing, uniform, shoes
- A safe place to sleep
- Education supplies
- Quality academic and vocational teaching
Thank you so much for taking the time to learn more about us!
Please take your time browsing our website, reading some of our children’s stories, our alumni stories, and perhaps read more about our impact.
And if you would like to learn a bit more, you can sign up to our email list.
Carey, Fundraising and Communications Manager
0207 629 3050
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