Helpo Association encourages children in Mozambique and Sao Tome to study

Children in Mozambique and São Tomé are encouraged to go to school thanks to a sponsorship program promoted by Helpo, which, in addition to supporting the school and community, has expanded the learning cycle and the number of schools.

At a time when the association is launching a new campaign to remotely recruit godparents, supported by some brands in the Portuguese market, and offering Christmas gifts of solidarity, Margarida Assuncao from the Non-Governmental Organization for Development (ONGD) Helpo highlighted the efforts that have been made to prevent dropouts from schools and increasing the number of cycles and schools to accommodate the thousands of children involved.

With approximately four thousand godparents, through a program launched in 2007, Helpo has sought to ensure that the school careers of supported children begin as early as possible and continue until completion of secondary education.

“This extension of the cycles is something that we have already done in several communities and that we are achieving, whether through pressure, through increasing the number of students themselves, but also through the construction of schools,” said Margarida Assunção Luse.

School in Mozambique (the equivalent of preschool in Portugal) is accessible to only 4% of the population, emphasized the person in charge of the Helpo sponsorship program.

With such a low level of commitment to preschool education, often “children go to first grade, but they still do not have the dynamics of the ability to sit in class, the ability to be silent, the ability to listen, the ability to speak.” take a pen and write on paper,” he emphasized.

Helpo helps children in communities have access to school materials, school uniforms, which are compulsory in secondary education, school meals, construction of facilities such as libraries, classrooms, toilets and water collection and distribution points, he explained.

There are several types of programs, but the most common ones cost godparents from 15 to 23 euros per month.

In turn, godparents receive updates from their godchildren twice a year, including photographs and report cards.

When sponsoring a child, all information about him is sent, from how his family is formed, in what conditions they live and where they live.

It also happens that adults in their 40s or 50s are encouraged to return to school when they have access to a school in the area where they live. Therefore, “there is no minimum or maximum age for participation in the program,” he emphasized.

To remain in the program, a child must attend school and cannot drop out.

Thanks to donations, Helpo was able to make life easier for some children, in particular by donating bicycles, “provided according to certain criteria, for example if they were the best students or because they live further away” to ensure that, despite the distances and difficulties, students remain dedicated to their studies. If the distance is still too long, there is also the option of Helpo to pay for student accommodation.

This year, to attract more godparents, the “Big Brands Inspired Us to Keep Ours” campaign was launched, with Galp, IKEA, Super Bock and NOS ceding image rights.

“The idea was to take advantage of the notoriety of these big brands to bring Helpo’s message, particularly the sponsorship program, to more people using very iconic advertising,” he explained.

The communities in which the organization operates are determined by local authorities, local partners or local Helpo members who send signals to them.

After that, Helpo evaluates them and declares itself.

“The community itself must allow the presence of the organization on the ground because our presence will also require the participation of teachers, school principals and parents themselves in some activities,” he said.

Besides the sponsorship program, other possible sources of funding for Helpo are the “0.5% Portuguese IRS batch” and charitable Christmas gifts, which are already available.