Fundraising for a school bus for the preschool in Kopong/Botsuana

Today, only children from economically well-off families in Botswana can attend a pre-school, as these are chargeable. For the most part, orphans can not attend preschool, as they live mostly in economically and socially disadvantaged circumstances. Therefore, they have a decisive disadvantage already at the beginning of primary school, because without the essential knowledge imparted in the preschool the successful attendance of the primary school is hardly possible.

The C & M Little Angels pre-school project in Kopong, funded by Share for Smiles, creates equal educational opportunities for the orphans. This is what the project is doing, combining the education of orphans with the education of children with middle-income parents. The preschool is designed for 95 children. For 65 children, the parents pay tuition, which covers the costs incurred, such as for teachers, lunch and teaching materials, in solidarity for the free schooling for another 30 orphans. Thus, this concept ensures a sustainable and donor-independent operation of the facility.

The children sometimes have a long way to school of up to 2.5 km. In the past, this meant a walk of up to one hour, especially for the orphans, as they live mostly in the outskirts. Therefore it was necessary to organize a transport for the children. So far, a bus was rented, incurred by the high cost. SHARE FOR SMILES has now acquired a bus to take the children safely to school. The running costs of the bus (diesel, driver's salary) are paid by middle-income parents. The cost contribution of the orphans takes over the school. The acquisition cost of the bus in the amount of € 7,500 will be amortized in 24 months.

www.kleineschulebotswana.de