Giving children an education

Your support has enabled us to give children around the world a proper school career, and here you can see the difference a decent education makes. By sponsoring a child, donating online or holding a fundraising event, you can help children enjoy the lifelong benefits of learning.

Teth goes to school in Battambang, Cambodia

When her parents were forced to go abroad to look for work, Teth had to go to live with her grandmother.

Like many children in Battambang, Cambodia, Teth didn't go to school - her grandmother earned so little from selling fish and vegetables in the market, she couldn't possibly afford the fees.

When teachers at the local SOS School found out about Teth's living conditions she was given a scholarship. Teth's grandmother was overjoyed to find not only the school fees covered, but also that Teth would be provided with a school uniform, books and stationary. If you ask Teth what she'd like to do when she grows up, her answer is immediate: 'I want to be a teacher! I want to help children like me to study and do well for their families'. 

The importance of education

Teth is one of the lucky ones. It is estimated that around 93 million children around the world don't have access to schooling. The reasons for this vary: some children have no school in their nearby area, while others can't attend as there is no provision using their first language. But the most common reason why children don't go to school is poverty.

While education is a right which all children should enjoy, there are also clear benefits to society to providing schooling for all. There is evidence that those who have received primary school education are healthier than those who have not, and that they are half as likely to contract HIV/AIDS. There are also financial benefits: with each year of schooling, the future income of a child increases by approximately 10%. Countries where a high proportion of citizens are educated are also more stable democracies with lower levels of crime.

SOS Children runs 400 schools around the world

To help meet the education needs of children in the communities where we work we run nurseries and primary and secondary schools around the world. The SOS Schools provide a meeting place for children from a variety of backgrounds, most attending on a full scholarship. The schools follow local and national curriculums, and use locally recruited qualified teachers to make sure the pupils receive a culturally suitable education and make a contribution to the local economy and labour market.

Children who attend our SOS Schools receive a high quality education, giving them the tools to avoid poverty. A survey also shows that 17% of children who grew up in our SOS Children's Villages and were educated in our care went on to complete a university degree - a very high proportion compared to the average in developing countries.

SOS Damview Primary School, Chipata, Zambia

Chipata, in the rural eastern region of Zambia, is the site of a new SOS Children's Village currently under construction. When the land for the Children's Village was allocated by the local authorities, there was already a primary school next to the site. It is a community school set up by parents and local activitists to respond to the lack of local educational facilities. The school is very poorly resourced and doesn't have any toilets, but the underpaid staff at this school have done a great job at educating the children of Chipata despite average class sizes of 70 children. To give the children of Chipata the quality education they have a right to SOS Children is now extending the school by adding 6 new classrooms and a toilet block. We will also provide the school with much needed teaching resources, with water and with electricity and we'll give ongoing training to its hard working teachers.