The WINS project was founded on 15 November 2006 and is registered as the WINS foundation with the Chamber of Commerce Amsterdam.
The situation in Indonesia
In Indonesia, many orphaned and disadvantaged children cannot attend school. Often they have to work at a young age, earning too little. Then there is a group of disadvantaged children with a physical and / or mental disability, who usually live very isolated lives. A chance of a normal existence is small, let alone being able to follow any form of education.
Vision, mission and goal
The WINS vision is to make a difference for disadvantaged children in Indonesia by giving them the opportunity to follow education so that they have a better future.
Our mission is to help these children to learn and teach them responsibility and ultimately independence, so that they will be able to take care of themselves and not depend on others. We do this on the basis of our WINS education plan:
- Ensure that children can follow regular education, thanks to the WINS Child Sponsoring program. You can sponsor a child financially so that the child can follow education.
- To provide additional lessons at the WINS Learning Centers, focusing on developing independence and responsibility.
The focus of the WINS foundation is education and the primary objective is to ensure that disadvantaged children in Indonesia can attend school. Without education, these children are doomed to a poor and hopeless existence. The WINS foundation is determined to break this cycle and give these children the opportunity for a better future. The ultimate goal of the WINS foundation is to teach the children themselves to be responsible for their own future.
Strategy
The following spearheads form the basis for achieving the above objective:
- Provide adequate education.
- Ensure that the children and the Learning Centers become self-sufficient in time, taking responsibility for their own future.
- WINS strives for each Learning Center to generate independent revenues within 3 to 5 years to cover daily operational costs.
- Provide care and, if necessary, shelter and basic needs such as security, loving and personal attention, healthy nutrition and medical care. This is the focus of WINS education.
The WINS shelters therefore are called “WINS Learning Centers”.
Target group
The target group is orphans and disadvantaged children who can never follow education without assistance, ie:
- Orphans. One older child whose unskilled parents earn about € 1 to € 1.50 a day. This is barely enough to cover costs for daily living needs.
- Children who are forced to terminate their education early because parents cannot afford school fees.
- Children with physical and / or mental impairments.
WINS Education Program
The children participating in the WINS Education Program attend the elementary and secondary schools. However, it is often the case that the environment and the level do not give the children enough space to be self-active and to develop their own initiative. The WINS foundation therefore provides additional lessons aimed at teaching the children independence and developing their sense of responsibility.
The additional lessons are free and accessible to all children from the local community. The WINS foundation does not distinguish between sponsored children and children from the local community. After all, they are one community!
The additional lessons cover:
- English language and computer skills.
- Dance, Arts and Culture to enhance their own identity, pride and self-confidence.
- Sexual education, HIV / AIDS.
- Personal care and personal hygiene.
- Communicating clearly.
- Future thinking and acting.
- Environmental awareness (environment, waste management, hygiene).
- Permaculture (according to the IDEP Foundation www.idepfoundation.org).
- Working with nature to improve society and the environment.
- Community Development; By involving the local community (parent, family, guest parent, neighbours, etc.) in the development and growth of the children, the community can make a positive contribution to the future of the children and ultimately to society.
With the above, the WINS foundation also aims to help the local community to eventually improve their living conditions, health and well-being on their own. The WINS foundation does this in collaboration with local WINS Learning Centers and local authorities.
Child sponsoring Program
In early 2007, the Child Sponsoring Program was introduced, whereby a sponsor can support a child financially so that he / she can go to school.
Method
- A child sponsor gives financial support to a specific child.
- Together with the sponsored child, and in consultation with the sponsor, a financial school plan is drawn up.
- Donations are primarily used for education costs, such as annual fees, public transport to / from school, school uniform, school books, writing materials, use of facilities such as computer, internet, library, etc.
- A child sponsor can donate extra money for e.g. clothes, shoes, medical care, pocket money, etc.
- The sponsor has the right to stop donations at any time. In this case, the WINS foundation takes care of the child until a new sponsor is found.
The child sponsorship is (in principle) intended for educational purposes and therefore ends when the child’s educational program stops. Any remaining donation validated will be used for other purposes, determined by the WINS foundation. It will always be in the interests of the children.
This film was made 10 years after the WINS foundation was founded. Some of the first children sponsored by WINS tell their story and what WINS has meant for their lives and future.