Mobile School is a Belgian foundation that provides portable schools for street children.
Instead of taking homeless children and placing them in an institutional setting, which often doesn't work, the Mobile School reaches out to children in their own environment. The goal isn't just to teach them basic reading and writing skills, but also to help them learn that they deserve a better life. They're given time to develop self-esteem and slowly prepare themselves for life off the streets, or if that isn't possible, at least make their life on the streets more humane.
The school itself is a small, mobile cart with blackboards and educational materials that slide out to give kids plenty of room to work on writing, drawing, learning to count and tell time.
The organisation, founded by a young Belgian industrial designer, got started in Guatemala and Bolivia in 2000. The concept can easily be adapted to other countries and other circumstances, like working with children in refugee camps.
Mobile School currently has 16 schools trekking around cities in South America, Asia, Africa and Europe, and hopes to continue to expand. Each school is run by local youth workers, who are trained by the Belgian foundation. It's a low budget project, and one that could go far with the help of compassionate sponsors!
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Hi Orit,
You can find more information on setting up a mobile school here: http://www.mobileschool.org. Good luck with your project!
I am from belgium myself, and i reside in california. I am very much interested in the program...please send me some more information, i would be glad to see if i can offer some kind of help...
Hi!
This project is fascinating. Have you a coordinator in southern China (I live in Guangzhou)? There are many families who move here from the countryside. There are many poor families who stay in the countryside, and who education budgets do not allow all eligible children to go to school (so I have heard).
What countries near China are you working in?
this is a brilliant idea. i want to know the origin of this idea. to my information there are mobile schools in india from 1999 on wards in the city called 'Bangalore'. i want to propogate this idea by writing an article on this concept. pl. provide any extra information if u have.
Thank you.
heiio
I am interested to know more about mobile school concept.
Please provide me more information onit.
Hello all,
Please contact info@mobileschool.org for more information or to find out how to help!
This idea has already been done... Check out ekalvidya.org (They already have around 20000 schools in India and Nepal).
I read somewhere about an artist who arranged for street kids to use a PC with internet access. His idea was to widen the world for these kids - showing the opportunities would push the need for education...
I also heard the Indian government is planning for a PC with a market price of 100 USD.
Internet can bring good things if we only want to do it....
I run a school for street children in India. I am fascinated with the idea of mobile schools. Kindly tell me where I can get more information and also see pictures and designs of such schools.
regards
wow! I'm from manila Philippines where we're never short of street kids. Please send me more info.
best regatds
gaston
hi, I am very interested in this idea but
i am wondering whether this idea is possible to do in Indonesia ?
will it be hard to control the students in an open space ? (volume control and focus on the board issues)
hi readers..
well i am a MBA student.. and i felt this idea is a great one for any entreprenuer who wants to start a NGO. i would like to know the feasibility of such an idea in india. i kno already mobile schools are present in india. well i want to kno how well they are accepted by the people and country and what is the feasibility of such an idea to be succcessful..
I find this to be a heartouching cause. I can't thank enough all of the people involved in these mobile schools.
We will find ways to help these cause, at least when it comes to the Latin children. We would love for them to learn the trade of arts and craft, to help them advance their future while giving them a way to express themselves in the language of their own culture.
Amelia Martinez-Holt
www.artelatinoh.com
My name is orit I am Education Coordinator at a project called "Ofanim", in collaboration with professionals in the field of education we establish different educational programs (computers, science, etc.) and build mobile-labs in a old buses for the different disciplines. Each mobile-lab used as a classroom and serve several low income communities.
I read the article regarding the mobile school and because are project is sort of mobile school I wish to get more information
orit lava | June 4, 2006 4:18 PM