Become a Sponsor ... Adopt-a-Classroom!
The sponsorship program targets the most pressing needs of the CENIT elementary school. For just $40 a month, a sponsor supports a primary school class at CENIT, participating in making a quality education possible for up to 20 desperately poor and underserved children. Over the course of the school year, the monthly donation
contributes to a full-time teacher’s salary, and for each child’s school expenses, including a nutritious school lunch and snacks, books, school supplies, and registration and enrollment fees, which are standard in Ecuador. These costs are often crippling for the poor families living in the south of Quito who are served by CENIT, and without some kind of outside help they would prevent working children from receiving a primary education.
On a monthly basis, the breakdown of costs for the Adopt-a-Classroom program are roughly as follows:
| Expense | Amount |
|---|---|
| Teacher salary | $12 |
| School lunches and snacks | $20 |
| Books and supplies | $ 5 |
| Registration/Enrollment | $ 3 |
A class of 20 children has 20 corresponding sponsors, ensuring that the teacher receives a living wage and the children are able to benefit from the full range of basic and supplementary services and materials outlined above. Being a sponsor offers donors a truly unique opportunity to see the difference their generosity is making in the lives of poor and working children at CENIT. Donors receive a quarterly update with pictures of the children in the class during their daily activities at work and at play, as well as detailed updates of what the class is working on and how the children are doing. In each newsletter, specific children will be highlighted, to exemplify how the program affects them personally and how they are doing in school, as well as their personal interests, hopes and dreams, and family situation.
One of the largest hurdles that CENIT faces in providing a quality education to street and working children is finding teachers who are dedicated to spending an entire school year with their class. The lack of a sustainable source of funding for teachers’ salaries contributes to educator turnover, preventing the children from being able to form close and trusting relationships with their teachers, and preventing teachers from getting to know their students well enough to address their individual needs. The Adopt-a-Classroom program would ensure that teachers receive a living wage, offering them incentive to dedicate themselves fully to their work at CENIT without having to look for other jobs.
If this program sounds like something that you are interested in supporting, or if you would like to make a general donation to CENIT, please contribute to ECHO.