V lete 2024 som organizovala zbierku cez donio.sk, kde som chcela vyzbierať peniaze na ročné štúdium pre 5 žiakov základnej školy Green Garden Academy v Keni. Je to súkromná škola a preto potrebuje platbu od rodičov – tí spočiatku aj platia, ale keď prídu o prácu, alebo otec, často jediný živiteľ rodiny umrie, či odíde za inou ‘manželkou’, prestanú platiť a škola stojí pred dilemou, či také dieťa vyhodí zo školy, alebo preň bude hľadať sponzora zo zahraničia. Som jedným zo sponzorov, platíme 20 EUR na mesiac, za ktoré škola poskytne denne 2 jedlá, učebnice a pokryje náklady na prevádzku školy, ako napr platy učiteľov a elektrinu, ktorá často vypadáva. Popri jednom sponzorovanom žiakovi sa „zvezie“ ďalšie dieťa, ktoré s ním sedí v lavici a pozerá do jeho učebnice. Na štátnych školách môže byť aj 100 detí v triede, často tam chodia aj dospelí, aby si formálne dokončili vzdelanie, ale kvalita týchto škôl je často úbohá.
V zbierke na donio.sk sa mi podarilo vyzbierať 890 EUR. Sama som už sponzorom dvoch detí, na ktoré už tretí rok posielam škole peniaze: Aliho mama zostala sama s troma deťmi, keďže otec odišiel s inou a na deti nijako neprispieva. Anifin otec zomrel, mal cukrovku, a jej mama zostala sama tiež s troma deťmi, najmladšie má navyše astmu. Je negramotná, a hoci v blízkosti je hotel, nemá šancu zohnať tam prácu, práve kvôli chýbajúcemu vzdelaniu, keďže konkurencia je veľká. V dnešnej dobe rodičia posielajú do školy aj dievčatá, ale pred desiatimi rokmi mali štastie dosiahnuť aké-také vzdelanie hlavne chlapci.
Moja zbierka bola motivovaná túžbou pomôcť škole inak, než sponzorovaním ďalšieho dieťaťa. Bolo to také moje prekvapenie pre jej riaditeľa, ktorý denne zápasí s nedostatkom financií pre svojich 450 detí, z ktorých asi len 150 má sponzora. Nevedela som, že škola plánuje vybudovať nové záchody. Doteraz mala tri pre chlapcov a tri pre dievčatá pre celú školu. Teraz v lete stavali ďalšie tri a tri, vedľa budovy Junior High, ktorá je na opačnom konci pozemku. Tí najstarší študenti ocenia, že majú toalety o dosť bližšie k svojim triedam. Pán riaditeľ sa peniažkom veľmi potešil a vďaka nim mohli dať toalety omietnuť, zaviedli tam tečúcu vodu na umývanie rúk a splachovanie vedierkom, a osadili bránku proti vandalom. Ono tie záchody sú stále len diera v podlahe, ale zato keramická 😊
Navrhol mi, že ich môžem prísť namaľovať. To bola takzvaná ponuka, ktorá sa neodmieta. Hneď som zorganizovala ďalšiu kamarátku, ktorá už robila charitatívnu prácu vo Vietname, a prosila ma, keď pôjdem nabudúce do Kene, nech s ňou počítam. Ponúkla sa, že pre deti v tejto škole spraví nejaký workshop na tému, ktorú si škola vyberie. Samozrejme, zadarmo, a ešte prispeje deťom na obedy. Cestu sme si naplánovali na prvý decembrový týždeň, keďže sme mali v Emirátoch 2 dni štátne sviatky, a dalšie 3 dni som si vzala neplatené voľno. V Keni mali síce hlavné prázdniny, ale pán riaditeľ zavolal okolo 20 detí z okolia, ktoré by inak sedeli pod krásnymi kokosovými palmami, a prišli na worshop s témou Career path (Kariérna cesta), a druhý deň Business management (Riadenie biznisu). Tie workshopy boli spojené s obedom, takže motivácia prísť bola silná.
Dva dni sme mali búrku mozgov, decká okolo 12 rokov nám rozprávali, kým by chceli byť - najviac doktormi, ale aj geodetmi, realitnými maklérmi, no mali sme tam aj budúceho prezidenta. Na druhý deň, na plánovanie biznisu, veľmi dobre poslúžil moj biznis plán spred 6 rokov, keď som si sama zakladala eshop. Deti sa rozdelili do tímov. Pod košatým mangovníkom tvorili obchodnú stratégiu, akými kanálmi by predávali topánky, ktoré držali v ruke. Priniesla som totiž 2 plné kufre noseného šatstva a starých modelov nových topánok, čo som už z eshopu vyradila.
Po 2 dňoch mentálnej práce sme sa konečne pustili do práce manuálnej. Ja som ešte stihla v kotlíku na otvorenom ohni uvarit s kuchárkami plastelínu, a hneď som ju aj vyskúšala s dvoma deťúrencami, čo tiež prišli na jeden deň do školy, či skôr škôlky. Moja kamarátka súhlasila so sponzorovaním jedného šikovného tuším budúceho doktora. A jej mame určite odľahlo, keď pochopila, že sponzorstvo nerovná sa adopcia. Teta, pozdravujem 😊
My dve sme sa poobede vydali ešte do rodín mojich dvoch sponzorovaných detí, aby sme sa na vlastné oči presvedčili, v akých podmienkach žijú. Neprišli sme s prázdnymi rukami. Za pár peňazí sme v blízkom obchodíku nakúpili ryžu, múku, olej, šošovicu, cukor a prach na pranie, a musím povedať, že mamám zvlhli oči pri predstave, že pár mesiacov budú môcť deťom dať cez víkend nejaké jedlo na stôl. Cez týždeň je strava v škole.
Aby ste si nemysleli, že sme len pracovali a sledovali podmienky najchudobnejších z chudobných. Podvečer sme sa stihli okúpať v mori. A ešte, ako som spomínala v mojom predchádzajúcom blogu, že som inšpirovala k dobročinnej práci aj strednú školu, kam chodia moje deti, chcela som si prejsť nejaké lokálne tipy na výlety. Navštívili sme útulok opíc Colobus Conservation, ktoré trpia nadmerným odlesňovaním kvôli výstavbe hotelov. Ak sa podarí zorganizovať ďalší výlet dubajských stredoškolákov, pár hodín môžu stráviť aj v tomto útulku, a posadiť pár stromčekov. Študenti sa taktiež dozvedia, čo je pre rôzne druhy opíc najväčšia hrozba.
Ak som vás inšpirovala k sponzorstvu, čo aj len na jeden rok, a chceli by ste dať šancu na lepší život dieťaťu v Keni, tu si môžete vybrať dieťa, ktoré podporíte" School GGA – Patoipa eV Peniaze sa posielajú do Nemecka, keďže školu založila Nemka a je riadená charitatívnou organizáciou o pár ľuďoch, Patoipa.
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Do you know where your money from the fund raising via donio.sk for a school in Kenya ended up? In the toilet.
More precisely, in three girls' and three boys' toilets.
In the summer of 2024, I organized a fundraiser via donio.sk, where I wanted to raise money to cover the cost of 5 Kenyan pupils for one year at the Green Garden Academy elementary school. It is a private school and therefore needs payment from the parents – initially they start paying, but when they lose their job or the father, often the sole breadwinner dies or leaves for another 'wife', they stop paying and the school is faced with the dilemma of whether to kick such a child out of school or look for a sponsor for them from abroad. I am one of such sponsors and we pay € 20 per month, for which the school provides 2 meals a day, textbooks and cover the costs of running the school, such as teachers' salaries and electricity, which often goes out. In addition to one sponsored pupil, another child "rides" and sits with him at the desk and looks at his textbook. In state schools, there can be up to 100 children in a class, often adults go there to formally complete their education, but the quality of these schools is often poor.
I managed to collect 890 EUR in the collection for donio.sk. I myself am already a sponsor of two children, for whom I have been sending money to the school for the third year: Ali's mother was left alone with three children, as the father left with another woman and does not contribute to the children in any way. Anifa's father died, he had diabetes, and her mother was also left alone with three children, the youngest of whom suffers with asthma. She is illiterate, and although there is a hotel nearby, she has no chance of getting a job there, precisely because of the lack of education, as the competition is high. Nowadays, parents also send girls to school, but ten years ago, it was mainly boys who were lucky enough to achieve some kind of education.
My fundraiser was motivated by a desire to help the school in a different way than by sponsoring another child. It was such a surprise for its director, who struggles daily with a lack of finances for his 450 children, of whom only about 150 have a sponsor. I didn't know that the school was planning to build new toilets. So far, they had three for boys and three for girls for the whole school. Now, in the summer, they were building three more for girls and three for boys, next to the Junior High building, which is at the opposite end of the lot. The oldest students will appreciate that they have toilets much closer to their classrooms. The director was very pleased with the money and thanks to it they were able to plaster the toilets buildings, add plumbing for running water for hands washing and a bucket flushing, and install a gate against vandals. Those toilets are still just a hole in the floor, but a ceramic one 😊
He suggested that I could come and paint them. That was the so-called offer that cannot be refused. I immediately organized another friend who experienced charity work in Vietnam, and she asked me to count on her the next time I go to Kenya. She offered to do a workshop for the children at this school on a topic of the school's choice. Of course, for free, and he would also contribute to the children's lunches.
We planned the trip for the first week of December, as we had 2 days of public holidays in the United Arab Emirates, and I took the next 3 days off unpaid leave. Although they had the main holidays in Kenya, the director called about 20 children from the area, who would otherwise be sitting under beautiful coconut palms, and they came to the workshop with the topic Career path, and the next day Business management. Those workshops were connected with lunch, so the motivation to come was strong. We had two days of brainstorming workshops, children around the age of 12 told us who they would like to become - mostly doctors, but also surveyors, real estate agents, but we also had a future president there. The next day, my business plan from 6 years ago, when I was setting up my own e-shop, served very well for the business planning session. The children were divided into teams. Under a lovely shadow giving mango tree, each team created a business strategy through which channels they would sell the shoes they held in their hands. I brought 2 full suitcases of worn clothes and old models of new shoes, which I had already eliminated from my e-shop.
After 2 days of mental work, we finally started manual work. I managed to cook playdough with the cooks in a cauldron on an open fire, and I immediately tried it with two children, who also came to school for one day, or rather kindergarten. My friend agreed to sponsor one clever, I think, future doctor. And her mother was certainly relieved when she came to understand that sponsorship does not equal adoption. Auntie, greetings 😊
The two of us went to the families of my two sponsored children in the afternoon to see with our own eyes the conditions in which they live. We did not come empty-handed. For a bit of money, we bought rice, flour, oil, lentils, sugar and washing powder in a nearby shop, and I have to say that moms' eyes got wet at the idea that for a few months they will be able to put some food on the table for the children on the weekend. During the week, there is food at school.
Don't think we were just working and watching the conditions of the poorest of the poor. In the early evening, we managed to swim in the sea. And also, as I mentioned in my previous blog, that I inspired the high school where my children go to charity work, I wanted to do some local trips. We visited the Colobus Conservation monkey sanctuary, as these monkeys suffer from excessive deforestation and the construction of hotels. If my kids’ school manages to organize another trip of their high school students, they can also spend a few hours in this monkey conservation, and plant a few trees.
If I have inspired you to sponsor a child, even if only for one year, and thus give a chance for a better life to a child in Kenya, you can choose a child to support at this link" School GGA – Patoipa eV
The money is sent to Germany, as the school was founded by a German woman and is run by a charity with a few people, Patoipa.
