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| Several happy children that we have helped so far. |
Because of wars, poverty, and displacement of families for safety reasons, many children continue to abandon school. Some prefer to spend their time in the street begging and stealing; others are used in work that is beyond their physical abilities as children; others become petty thieves. All children have the right to an education, however, and that right has not been respected.
It is said that children are the future of a country. We must understand that this is not true of all children—it is only of an educated child. An uneducated child is a problem both for his family and for his country. FAMA’s vision is to support children in returning to school to prepare for the future. This is another means of rebuilding the family.
In circles where parents are required to pay tuition for all children (and even the salaries of teachers), there are many children who simply can’t go to school. Sometimes children in a family take turns going to school, with one going one year and one the next. Often it is only boys who are permitted to go to school with the girls in the family forced to marry while they are too young. FAMA conducts a campaign to sensitize parents so that all children will have an equal opportunity to attend school.
FAMA's goal is to give orphan children from 6-20 years old the opportunity to study, guaranteeing their future on both a personal and global level. By providing tuition and school supplies for up to 200 children, FAMA hopes to prepare a better future for them, their families, and respective countries. Starting in 2007, 75 pygmy children attended school in the Muyinga Province of Burundi. In 2008, that number increased to 95, and presently FAMA is supporting the education of 125 children. This comes in the form of much-needed school supplies, uniforms, shoes, and backpacks for the students, as well as food for the families that have their children enrolled.
In another area of Burundi, FAMA pays rent at a refugee school in addition to providing clothes and school supplies. In Rwanda, FAMA supports a school for orphans and poor students in the Kanombe area near Kigali City with more school supplies, clothes, tables and chairs.
Join with FAMA to ensure that every child has a chance to go to school!
