Public Projects
Education For an Outstanding Future (EFOF)
EFOF is tax exempted and was established in order to provide financial assistance to the needy in Africa. Its main aim is principally to help children and youth from the poorer areas of Africa. We believe that in the long term, it is less useful to distribute immigrants all over Europe, as currently being discussed. Furthermore, asylum seekers in Switzerland, for example, get approximately CHF 8.00 per day and that is insufficient to pay for their living. In addition, immigrants who were educated in Africa cannot work in Europe as their education is not recognized here. It is therefore important to support these people in their countries, as more jobs can be created through education. We want to concentrate on 2 countries at the moment; Zimbabwe and Zambia. If we are successful in these 2 countries, we then plan to give financial assistance to other pupils in other African countries in the future. Furthermore, the project is being run with high school students. Every year one or two pupils go with the CEO, Scholastica Sidina, to Africa. It is important that as many Swiss pupils as possible can go with the CEO to Africa, so that they can expand their horizons and learn to appreciate more our school system here. Thus, the high school students also learn to better understand Africans and existing fears towards foreigners can be eliminated at an early age and more tolerance towards foreigners would be possible. In August 2014, we went to Zimbabwe and our mission was accomplished successfully. Videos were made of the children and their families and published on our homepage. The members of the association always want to become well acquainted with the children themselves. This year, we are going to Zimbabwe again and to Zambia for the first time. It is the principle by which we work that the funds go directly to the children and is actually used for education. For this reason, the members of EFOF will go annually to Africa to pay the money physically and continue to have direct contact with the children and youth and monitor their development. As the school fees will be paid by members of the association when physically in Africa, rather than be transferred to the accounts of the schools or any other contact persons in Africa, this will ensure accountability. If we get sufficient donations, we would like to build one or two schools in any one of the countries where we are supporting some children. We would like to build the first school in Zambia as this country is politically stable. Initially, we wanted to build a school in Zimbabwe but unfortunately we have been waiting for 2 years for all the information we need. That is the reason why we are now intending to build a school in Zambia instead. When the school is finished, students from Switzerland would then go once or twice a year to Africa and offer tutorials in various subjects. They would also be given all the school material that they need. We will also offer the wealthy tutorials, but they will have to pay. This money will then be reinvested in the project.
Social Impact: reduction of number of school drop outs; improvement of the pass rate of the pupils being assisted; reduction of poverty by offering an education to the poor and giving them an outstanding future; enablement of Swiss students to learn about other cultures and make them appreciate their school system here. Through such an experience, the high school students also learn to understand Africans better and existing fears towards foreigners can be eliminated at an early age.
Financial impact: supporting education leads to less poverty, as more jobs can be created through education; the students involved in the project are from Switzerland and the pupils being supported financially in Africa could be sponsors of the project in the future. Therefore, sustainability of the project over a long period is guaranteed; pupils are involved in the project, and if the project is successful, this would build the pupils' confidence for taking future risks and also reduce any fear that they may have, should they want to establish their own companies.
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