With your support I will learn to write and read!

Can you imagine how your life would be if you couldn’t write and read? Now think how it is for a child with Special Educational Needs, leaving the institutional care to face the adult life without these skills. How the reality will be, depends on you.

It is through a deep look and tender gestures that António* communicates. His hugs are warming and his most remarkable characteristic is the affection. In the village he found a home a family and several siblings. But it wasn’t always like this. In an environment of neglect, he learned at a young age the meaning of rejection and abandonment. At 12 years, old António studies the 4^th grade of primary school but with severe challenges in writing and reading. António has Special Educational Needs and deserve the education that answer his needs.

Knowing that the best place for a child is among his/her biological family, the SOS Children’s Village Cabo Verde stablish in the beginning an individual development plan, aiming both the long and the short-term family reunification, safeguarding the best interest of children. Parallelly, we ensure to all children the basic care such as, home, food, health and education so they can grow and develop integrally.

In this following individual process, we have identified gaps in learning process in 19 children identified with SEN, that are prevented from an inclusive, equal and qualified education. The necessity of adequate SEN professional and tools, both in the national educational system and in SOS Children’s Village, to give adjusted answer to the needs identified, pushed us to look for solutions and adjusted development to our internal capability to answer the demands of this specific group.

Aiming to stimulate these children to the limits of they capability and preparing them for their autonomous life, we will launch this campaign to provide the organization with well-equipped classroom and capable human resources to answer the specific needs of these children.

As one supports this campaign he or she will help provide to António and the other 18 children with Special Education Needs in the SOS Children’s Village Cabo Verde, the opportunity to express in words what they can only express with their eyes and gestures and verbally.

* Please note that we have changed the names in keeping with the privacy policy of the organization.

About the author

Trained in tourism, gender equality, entrepreneurship and marketing, Leila Portela has been done a meritorious work as a social activist, in Portugal and in Cabo Verde, her country of origin.

She lives in Oliveira do Bairro, Aveiro, but she cannot let go of her cape Verdean roots, so whenever possible she promotes action to support the most vulnerable groups in her country, specifically for children.

“It is a legacy transmitted for my mother, teacher Margarida how she was tenderly called by everyone, who works for more than 10 years with children with disability”, she says with pride. “Everything is possible with love”! she emphasises mentioning her mother’s words.

As a result of this inter-generational love for children, Leila became herself and ambassador of the SOS Children’s Village Cabo Verde, where she identified children in need of an answer that not even the organization nor the national educational system are able to support, so far.

As a typical Cape Verdean, she quickly accepted the challenge to mobilize people who like her, believe that no one should be left behind in this so-called globalized world that is at same time so unequal.

Budget and due dates

For a multi-functional inclusive project, it is necessary to invest in professional training as well as, invest in equipment for the classroom and professionals training in SEN to deliver an adequate service.

Schedule:

This campaign will run for 2 months, after being approved by the PPL platform, that is, from October to December 2021. The Donations will be sent in February 2022.

Documents

• credencial_embaixadora_de_boa_vontade.pdf

  pdf • 546.13 KB