Menelik-Education aims to help create a brighter future for people in the Democratic Republic of Congo; a country which has endured many brutal years of social and political turmoil.
Our main focus is education and specific projects include:
* Creating and maintaining education links between schools in the UK and schools in the DRC. The aim of this project is to strengthen Congolese education systems and give more children the opportunity to go to school.
* Self-Help/ Community Education groups to develop and provide learning programmes for older children and adults who have been denied the opportunity of an education.
* Regeneration: The school buildings are in desperate need of repair. Our ultimate goal is to turn all the schools within our partnership into high quality, environmentally friendly, welcoming institutions and hope that we will be able to replicate our success elsewhere in the DRC.
* Resource Centre In partnership with local communities we are opening a Resource Centre in Kinshasa aimed at helping local people (especially 13-25 year olds) to: Learn skills Set up small-scale, self-sustaining enterprises Raise awareness of public affairs We also aim to to provide tuition by local teachers (payed by us) and global volunteers for the following: Arts & Design courses Language courses Performing Arts Health & Beauty Personal Development Practical skills & Training Information technology Sports coaching AIDS awareness & prevention The Resource Centre will also operate as a library for local people.
Menelik-Education aims to help create a brighter future for people in the Democratic Republic of Congo; a country which has endured many brutal years of social and political turmoil. Our main focus is education and specific projects include: * Creating and maintaining education links between schools in the UK and schools in the DRC. The aim of this project is to strengthen Congolese education systems and give more children the opportunity to go to school. * Self-Help/ Community Education groups to develop and provide learning programmes for older children and adults who have been denied the opportunity of an education. * Regeneration: The school buildings are in desperate need of repair. Our ultimate goal is to turn all the schools within our partnership into high quality, environmentally friendly, welcoming institutions and hope that we will be able to replicate our success elsewhere in the DRC. * Resource Centre In partnership with local communities we are opening a Resource Centre in Kinshasa aimed at helping local people (especially 13-25 year olds) to: Learn skills Set up small-scale, self-sustaining enterprises Raise awareness of public affairs We also aim to to provide tuition by local teachers (payed by us) and global volunteers for the following: Arts & Design courses Language courses Performing Arts Health & Beauty Personal Development Practical skills & Training Information technology Sports coaching AIDS awareness & prevention The Resource Centre will also operate as a library for local people.
Funds raised may be used to...
Provide learning resources and enable more children to get an education, which is such a rarity at the moment. Donations will also be used for training & paying teachers, and much-needed rebuilding of classrooms and school buildings. The fact that a large precentage of recent generations of Congolese people have had no access to education has also created a massive problem. To begin combatting this, Menelik-Education is offering community based activities, for example: workshops enabling local people to learn new skills, providing money to help people in the DRC to start businesses and create their own incomes, organising festivals and sports tournaments, and much more... Rather than simply providing hand-outs, Menelik-Education is a firm believer in making all of its projects self-sustainable and is committed to helping create long-term successes
THINGS WE HAVE ACHIEVED SO FAR:
There are several projects which we have funded already:
1. An increased level of financial assistance to pupils from 35% to 65%, (7200+ students aged between 3-19).
2. A new community friendly resource centre, in which we fitted 16 computers with an extra 4 to be fitted this month making a total of 20 computers, donated by the Leys College (Cambridge) and the Cambridge Centre of Sixth Form Studies - we spent £7,000 to adopt and adapt them to meet local needs.
3. A teacher training programme accessible to all our teachers, including an IT training course. 99% of the teachers had never touched a computer before and thanks to this scheme 100% will be computer literate by the end of this academic year (2009-10). This project is ongoing and cost £200 a month.
4. We have supplied our partner school’s clinic at St Georges with much needed medical equipment donated by Addenbrookes Hospital including a new microscope donated by Dr Wilf Kelsal and his wife Carol. Since September 2009 more than 7000 pupils have access to some form of medical care compared to less than a 1000 in previous academic years. Students pay £3.50 per year.
5. We have connected 8 of our computers to the internet, allowing teachers, pupils and staff access to information previously denied to them - interner access cost £150 per month.
6. We have established a Congo and Impington students group, where students communicate with each other online, sharing all sorts of information, but most importantly develop friendships - this project is ongoing.
7. We have put in place schemes enabling volunteers to travel to the
8. We have helped send 3 girls from our schools in very deprived areas to university, which would have been otherwise impossible. Patrick Chadwick, a film-maker and supporter of MenelikEducation, generously paid the year’s fees for one of them. Average university cost is £250 per year.
9. We have given financial assistance to 3 single mothers to start up businesses, all of which are running successfully - £500 per business. The start of the loan repayment is in January 2010, however, the date may have to be reviewed depending on circumstances. In 2003, the house in which the resource centre is based required major work and long before the creation of MenelikEducation and Music (2006), Theodore Menelik took three month unpaid leave and remortgaged is house twice to pay for the work required. He spent well over £50,000 to make the place suitable for this school project. Total Secured Funds As of January 2010 CHOOSE WHERE YOUR DONATION IS SPENT Too often, we see local organisations forced to devote the bulk of their time to raising funds, taking away resources from the people they are trying to help, struggling to keep their programmes financially viable into the future. MenelikEducation's aspirations go way beyond short-term aid for the children in the communities we are trying to help in deprived areas of the capital city Kinshasa - we are fully committed to seeing the children in these communities grow up to be not only responsible parents and valuable members of society, but humanitarians that contribute to benefiting the lives of others. To make our project sustainable will require some funds to assist with essential behind-the-scenes tasks such as proposal, partnership building and report writing, communication with donors, establishing sponsorship programmes, and general administrative assistance. So, what MenelikEducation has done is open two separate accounts so you make the choice of where your money is spent. *GENERAL FUND - by far the larger account - is for all things associated directly with the children, their care on all levels, and their education. General donations to MenelikEducation will go directly to this account, as well as specific donations for nominated children's' projects. *SUSTAINABILITY FUND - that will assist MenelikEducation with technical and financial resources so Theodore and is team can concentrate their efforts on the needs of the children rather than fundraising activities. Only pre-arranged sponsorships will go to this account. As always, our activities will be transparent and openly accountable, and sponsors can be assured we will only spend what is necessary to achieve our goals for the children. We invite individual/corporate investors/donors who share this long-term vision, and are prepared to support our ongoing strategies, to please direct your donation to the MenelikEducation Sustainability Fund. We are proud of our transparent accounting practices. If at any stage you would like to know more about how the funds are distributed, we are more than happy to provide you with these details. INFORMATION: info@menelikeducation.org Change a life today Please consider donating £5 or £10 a month and help us reach more families who are unable to send their kids to school. This year over 70% of children have been unable to go to school. We consider this to be a great disaster for the future of the Democratic MenelikEducation and its partners (Lembo- £10 will provide a month's worth of paper, pens, pencils, and books for an entire classroom of children. For many children in the DR Congo, this is a luxury and MenelikEducation is very proud to be playing a major part in the education system in this great country. £25 will enable us to extend our school programme and introduce some basic adult education programmes to promote literacy and numeracy among women and teach them how to establish and maintain small businesses. £100 will enable us to establish a small-scale sustainable community project, creating jobs for the community, bringing household security, enhanced health in the community and a meaningful future for adults, youths and children. If you would like to make a monthly donation, please ask you bank to set up a standing order to the following account: MenelikEducation Ltd Sort code: 20-17-22 Account No: 40338346 Ref: 1668546140 Alternatively, you can make a one off donation to the same account. The Board of Trutsees meets four times a year at our office. Members of the public are invited to attend. Contact: tmenelik@menelikeducation.org MenelikEducation Ltd c/o The Humanitarian Centre Tel:
What we provide
We like to work alongside our supporters, explaining the needs of various schools and communities, understanding your needs as a donor and giving insight to the life-changing difference your money makes. (Of course, we are equally happy to simply acknowledge donations if you prefer!)
If you are able to give £5,000 or more, you might find one of our special projects a particularly rewarding method of donating.
Whether you have a windfall you would like to share or wish to offer substantial help on a regular basis, we would love to work with you – putting your money to the areas where it can have the maximum impact.
We now offer an individual service to each supporter to understand your preferred area of support and update you on the progress of your project. It is usually possible to arrange trips to see the work if donors wish – there is no better feedback than see it for yourself!
If you would like to know more about donating in this way then please contact MenelikEducation Major Donors Team on 01223 769 300, or you can email us directly at majordonors@menelikeducation.org
THINGS WE WANT TO ACHIEVE:
1. Open libraries within the resource centre and in some of our schools - £4,500.
2. Complete the wall (fence) of our partner school (Ecole Laic de Kintambo) - £7,000 (includes a secure playground and other children friendly facilities).
3. Refurbish the site identified in one of our campuses to establish a school offering vocational qualifications - £6,000/7,000.
4. Fund teacher yearly training trips to the
5. Fund an agricultural development project based at our resource centre to introduce the idea of self-sufficiency in the DRC and decrease the country’s reliance on imported food - £3,500.
Appeal Target £23,500.00 Funds released by Government Funds available from MenelikEducation £2,646.72 Pledges to date £5,000.00 Funds received
£2,500.00