This project seeks to help bridge educational gaps and generally improve on the educational prospects of children on admission in hospitals for long periods of time and those discharged home, as well as underprivileged children unable to have access to education or experiencing academic struggles in the UK and parts of Africa.
Under privileged children and children who struggle with medical conditions that require long hospital admissions suffer a major setback in academic development amongst their peers.
The experience of Valerie and Praise two sisters who experienced lengthy hospital admissions inspired the Bridging Education Gaps project.
Valerie spent the most part of the 8 years she was alive in and out of hospital. In that time and for as long as 2-3years intervals of her numerous admissions she would lack access to any formal education despite hospital’s willingness and acknowledging its importance, it simply lacked funding and therefore lacked the capacity to offer educational support facility. This in turn would impact negatively on her mood as she really loved to learn.
On discharge the London city council with complementing efforts from parents would play catch up on existing educational gaps. These efforts by the city council often are not replicated across Europe and many countries across the world as each council/country with its existing educational developmental efforts and goals.
In light of this, children in areas lacking such a facility are entirely dependant on what their caregivers can make available in and out of hospital. This gets even complicated, if the parents or care giver lacks the financial wherewithal to provide qualitative education, thereby making education a supposed right of the child an out of reach privilege.
Praise having spent the first 4 years of her life in hospital was worse off as educational support in hospital and post admission was either non-existent or grossly inadequate in Newcastle.
Understanding that education being a fundamental right of a child is integral in achieving life goals, Safe Haven-A Ray of Hope in collaboration with Maximize Education is dedicated to helping these children bridge existing educational gaps so they can catch up, compete favourably and achieve great academic strides as their peers.
It is integral to also note that dwindling economies and its resultant financial difficulties such as out right closure of businesses, increase in unemployment, Or a reduction in earning of individuals as a consequence of the Covid-19 crisis has its own retrogressive impact on the statistics of underprivileged children and their access to education. Safe Haven- A Ray of Hope is committed to keeping these children in school and seeing to it that these children who may have dropped out as result of lack of funds are not only reinstated back in school but are given the support, needed to catch up on all they might have missed.
