Written by Lisa Robinson-Spader.
At the very beginning of Covid, Martin organized a Covid educational campaign for 100 villages, teaching about Covid and how to protect oneself. This was run by the nursing staff, but the children in the afterschool centers were the first to be trained. Twenty of our students were eager to help with the campaign, so they were given flyers to distribute around their villages, and the children did more than distribute the flyers – they also educated each household as they handed out the flyer. The kids LOVED feeling significant – doing something important for their communities – so Martin started “Children’s Clubs”, and each after-school center has its own club.
The primary goals are to build the self-confidence of the children, help them choose an issue they want to tackle, strategize how to accomplish their goals, and implement their strategies. At first, government officers paid little attention to the children, but the students’ perseverance began impressing people. Thanks to their efforts, one village now has a well, a water tank, and piping to three locations where people can fill up their containers with clean water. Elsewhere, children used a muddy, flooded road in the rainy season to get to school, but now, thanks again to their efforts, the road is paved. And a school has toilets for girls where there used to be none. The children are learning that by banding together and persisting, they can be powerful agents of change!
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