Within our school an OVC program has been established. This OVC program has been with us from the start and has grown to a total of 38 children who have found their place in this program at the very moment.
Due to the fact that the girl child has less access to education, it is decided to add more girls in the program than boys. By doing so, we hope to prevent early marriages and teen pregnancies and as well give the girl child the chance to at least finish high school.
Every OVC child is linked to a sponsor, currently from the Netherlands, Belgium, Oman or Canada. This sponsor pays the school fees, uniform, shoes, jersey, school materials (book, pencils) and other costs that may arise.
In return, the sponsor will receive at the end of each term the results of the tests, a report form from the teacher and a general report from Jennifer about the child. Photos are also send throughout the year. A sponsor may also choose to be in touch with the child by sending photos or an email, which will be delivered by Jennifer to the child.
From the children and their parents/guardians we also expect something. The child should take good care of his/her uniform, the school materials, be present at school and to put effort towards his/her school work. The parents/guardians should inform the school when a child is sick and come and get the results at the end of the test weeks.
Who can end up in the OVC program?
Children who are single or double orphaned. This means that they have lost their father and / or mother. Also, in the extreme case, children can end up here who still have parents, but who live in a rather hopeless situation (no work parents, a lot of poverty, hunger).
These children need support because they can or do not go to school or end up in a government school with difficulty. Now the latter is of course still education, but they share their class with 50-60 other children. They do not get the attention they need after the loss of a parent and chances are that they are kept at home to help with working. Through the sponsorship we can ensure that they continue to go to school and we also try to assist them in the social-emotional field. Most children who are sponsored, however, have never been to school or have stopped school after the death of the father and / or mother.