Back to School... but not for everybody September 2014 Special Edition
If ever there was a tool to raise standards of living and lift people out of poverty then surely it is an education. But high school dropout rates range from 20% to over 50% in the eastern European region. Those are terrible numbers. All those children are being condemned to lives of poverty, misery and suffering. They lack the basic skills to get and keep any kind of job that would pay at least a subsistence living wage. To say nothing of the dignity and feelings of self worth a good job can bring. So this fall many thousands of children in the region will not be going back to school. They have no opportunity, their families can’t afford to keep them in school or they are abandoned or orphaned. The reasons are many. Access to schools is usually free, but everyone has to provide their own textbooks and stationery, and have suitable clothing. Typically, it costs between $150 and $300 every year to equip a child for school. For all parents this presents a big obstacle, but especially for the unemployed. Many parents, lucky enough to work, are trying to survive on around $120 per month to feed and clothe their families. But even for them any extra costs are more than they can bear, and so education is abandoned. That’s why we provide scholarships. It’s why we created and run our vocational school at Sarny in Ukraine and our training center in Moldova. It’s why we provide after-school support in community centres across the region. And it’s why we do everything we can to keep the children in school. One young man who left high school but was living in an institution was sponsored by MWB to do a shoemaking course. ‘This is a good job to have in our country. When I go home, my mum is always waiting for me to help repair her or my brother or sister’s shoes. Of course, I do it with pleasure and pride. I am very grateful to MWB for this training, which will be very important for our future.’ This sponsorship gives him valuable skills for the future. At the same time he says, ‘At school, I am also happy, along with my fellow shoemaking students, to help our schoolmates when they have problems with their shoes. So we are useful to them and at the same time, we get to practice.’
It’s never too late ... Our Emotional Support program in Romania puts into practice our commitment to all areas of children’s education. We look to involve both students and parents in school and family life while supporting their education in the areas of civics and morals and practical life skills. Although all children in our programs go to school, most of them have poor results. Dropout rates, even in primary school are high. This is often due to parental neglect combined with the children’s poor motivation to go to school. Aside from their lack of concern for school, there are common traits among the children enrolled. All these characteristics are strongly linked to the parents’ lack of education. Acknowledging that these children can all be taught/educated there are significant impediments to reaching that goal: • most are victims of parental neglect and live in a violent, hostile, even abusive environment • their parents have lived sad life stories and, like a ripple effect, will generate sad stories for their children • they grew up without rules or positive discipline • many children grow up faster than their biological age because they took over parental obligations and responsibilities for younger siblings or chores Vera never met her parents, after being in a school for slow learners where she never even learned to read she ended up sleeping on the streets. She eventually married, became pregnant and was promptly abandoned by her husband. She was now a single mother, raising her son on social support and with no basic life skills. Life continued to be hard for her, and they were doing worse and worse. “I never had my own money before. I remember looking at money and wonder which bills were more valuable. When I would buy a loaf of bread and the clerk asked me for money, I would put everything I had on the counter and ask her to take what was needed. Now I know that I was cheated on more than once,” she said. Our counsellors have found that a one on one session with the families, in their own homes, proved to be very successful in creating environments where both academic and practical life skills education was seen as important. The majority of these families are single parent (virtually all mothers) where the mom was just overwhelmed due to her own lack of education and experience. The goal first is to provide life skills educational support for people like Vera. Then create an environment where her child can go to and be successful in school.
Equipping young people for life • $25 will help buy a pack of stationery for a school student to help him/her complete their schooling
Mission Without Borders 1-800-494-4454 | www.mwbca.org email: dinwood@mwbi.org
• $80 will provide a computer course at MWB’s Vocational Training Centre, Sarny, Ukraine • $110 will pay for a hair-dressing training course at Leova State Home, Moldova • $200 will train a young person to become a mechanic at MWB’s training centre in Moldova
P.O. Box 2007, Abbotsford, BC V2T 3T8
“Of course, I do it with pleasure and pride. I am very grateful to MWB for this training, which will be very important for our future.” Other courses supported by MWB include: Tailoring
Agriculture
Catering
Shoemaking
Computer Skills
Beekeeping
We offer many other courses all designed to teach our students a skill they can make a living with.
Could you help us to run these courses and give children valuable skills for the future?
Good News from Sarny It was really tense and challenging for the students and for the teachers of our Vocational/Educational Centre in Sarny recently. There was a state certification of all our courses which our institution has to undergo every ten years according to Ukrainian legislation. The school had to demonstrate that the standards practised by the school met state standards. In addition the students had to defend their final diploma projects before the certification commission. We are happy to inform that 100% of our students were successful, the school met the required standards and as a result, our Educational Centre has obtained state re-certification. This means that Sarny Vocational/ Educational Centre is approved to continue its work, and our future students will also be able to acquire a state-approved diploma that gives them the right to apply for jobs as qualified workers.
Our Community Centers in Moldova In 2009 MWB opened its first Community Center in Moldova to help children whose parents have gone overseas, many just abandoning their children. The center also supported children from socially vulnerable and/or poor families. Today there are 17 such centers supporting over 1800 children. In Moldova, Mission Without Borders CRI in COM Project (Child Rescue International in the Community) was established due to the needs of these children. It has been estimated that every tenth child from the Republic of Moldova has one parent or both abroad. Unfortunately this migration continues to increase bringing even more hardship to these vulnerable children. Many of these children are cared for by their grandparents or relatives or are simply abandoned. Many of these children share very poor living conditions. Even parents that go abroad to help their families sometimes become victims themselves of human trafficking and aren’t allowed to support their families back home. What they earn is kept by their masters. Together with local churches MWB created our Community Centers to provide for the children’s needs. We provide opportunities for education, support, tuition, medical and social assistance. The Community Center is the life-boat for the
majority of these children. The Community Centers work to provide decent living conditions, emotional support, spiritual guidance, physical security and of course basic needs such as food and clothing. We try to ensure they are given the education the state guarantees. We offer psychological assistance and help to teach social communication skills with other children and adults. Children left without parental care requires an individual and friendly attitude and approach. The Community Centers workers offer care and support to CRI in COM kids. Often the centers are considered an isle of refuge for the majority of children as there they find understanding, care and love. Sometimes they need someone just to listen to their problems and encourage them, pray with them and in this way they know that they are not alone. They are inspired and encouraged by knowing that someone thinks about them and wants to give them a helping hand.
Sponsor Tours Romania and Moldova Spring 2015 Are you interested in going on a sponsor tour next spring? If there is sufficient participation we will organize tours for late spring in either Moldova or Romania or both. Sponsors pay their air fares and living costs while in country. We will arrange the itinerary and act as your tour guides. Please call, email or write to let us know of your interest. It would be so special to meet your sponsored children and families, for them and you.
Prayer Guide We invite you to look at our new prayer guide. You can find it on our website at http://www.mwbca.org/get-involved/ Look under the Prayer team entry.
Do you live in Abbotsford and area and like to volunteer? We need some help doing general office work, a little computer stuff. There is nothing complicated, some of it can even be done on your home computer. We also need a little help in receiving, sorting and packing donations. No heavy work is involved. If you’re interested please call and speak to either David or Bonnie. We’d love to hear from you. With gratefull thanks for your support and concern for the people of Eastern Europe. Blessings David
National Director
1-800-494-4454 | www.mwbca.org