Moving Child half-year report 2020
Moving Child turned 10 this year!
The growth and development of Moving Child is a matter very close to our hearts. Over the last decade Moving Child has grown, several new projects were supported, and more and more funds were made available. We are proud and grateful that Moving Child now has such an extensive and impressive list of supported projects. Each of the projects impressed us with its individual approach and concept and it is our personal concern to maintain close contact and exchange with these projects. In this half-year report, we want to give an insight into the projects we are currently funding. Especially considering the difficult situation in the past months, it is important to us to present the state of and developments in the different projects. You can also download this report here.
~ EDUCATION ~
International Schools in Laos and Thailand
The two international schools Kiettisack (Luang Prabang, Laos) and Kajonkiet (Phuket, Thailand) naturally had to follow many safety regulations due to the pandemic and both schools were closed in March. However, the students were given virtual lessons at home and the schools did their best to keep in touch with the students. It has to be said that the virtual lessons and, above all, the switch to this form of teaching were absolutely exemplary. The teachers were set up to teach remotely within a few days and were able to provide material and assistance to the pupils. The presented challenges were overcome immediately and exemplary and care was taken to ensure that no child was neglected. Even pre-schoolers were provided with tasks that helped them stay motivated, excited, and challenged during this difficult time. Both schools were opened again in July.
Hands With Hands
Hands with Hands has been supporting projects concerning social education, health, and the environment in Nepal for years. Hands with Hand focuses on building and managing self-sufficient children’s homes. In view of the pandemic, the children in the children’s homes were of course also in lockdown. Fortunately, there were well-established hygiene standards already in place and the children were able to help each other continue to work on the school assignments despite the lockdown. The self-sufficiency aspect of the children’s homes has been of particular value in recent months: during the lockdown the children still had access to fresh vegetables, cereals, and milk. Moreover, the construction work on the new “Eco Village” project was not completely paralyzed by the pandemic and only now had to be stopped due to the onset of the monsoon.
Campus di Monaco – Montessori School Munich
The educational success of children and young people is strongly influenced by their social background and the current crisis further highlights existing differences. This was a special challenge for the Campus di Monaco Montessori School in Munich, because more than half of the students have a refugee or migration background. They suffered particularly from the school closures in mid-March: the young people were isolated, they suffered from the noise in the collective accommodation and the lack of opportunities to retreat. The social service workers were withdrawn because of the risk of infection, and protective masks are lacking. The Campus di Monaco team worked tirelessly during school closure and, with a lot of personal commitment, tried to maintain contact with the pupils. Since May things were slowly improving: almost all pupils were back in face-to-face classes and since Pentecost the sixth and seventh grades were also back at school. Of course, there was still a requirement to wear a mask (outside the well-ventilated classrooms) and thanks to diligent seamstresses, students could also get these free of charge at school. The best news is that, despite the difficult corona situation, the senior class finished their final exams. A really impressive achievement!
Aid for Refugees in Austria
The Syrian family, which Moving Child supports in Austria, was influenced in many ways by the difficult situation in the past months. Fortunately, the older sons were able to continue their education and apprenticeship, but of course the younger children had to drop out of school. Nevertheless, the family of 7 is doing relatively well. They are healthy and help each other: the older siblings help the younger ones with their schoolwork. Even the English summer course for the oldest daughter in Malta can take place. While the oldest daughter is preparing for the final year now, the youngest son will also be starting high school after the summer holidays.
~ HEALTH ~
Network Birth and Family
The sewing workshop and the café of the Network Birth and Family in Munich are social initiatives to promote the professional integration of long-term unemployed women. While usually funny, non-toxic toys and clothes for children are sewn in the sewing workshop, there has been a change in the last few months and many colourful masks have found their way into and out of the workshop. The café has also reopened in mid-May and freshly prepared lunches are offered daily following recipes from around the world. The movement classes for the women working in the network, which Moving Child has supported for years, have been resumed on a small scale after the Corona break and will hopefully fully take place again soon.
Care for Rare – Child Life Specialists
When sick children have to leave their family’s security to be treated in a clinic, their vulnerability becomes particularly apparent. In order for these children to receive the best possible child-friendly and holistic support, in addition to doctors and nurses, social pedagogues and psychologists are also needed who respond to the specific needs of children in the hospital. Moving Child funded the Child Life Specialist program at the Dr. von Haunerschen Children’s Hospital, which focuses specifically on this point: The needs of children in this uncertain situation are perceived and taken seriously. Despite the challenging times, the Child Life Specialist program was launched in May 2020!
Lao Friends Hospital for Children (LFHC)
Although no COVID-19 infected patients were treated directly in the LFHC, the situation in recent months has had a dramatic impact on the work at the hospital. The national borders have been closed and the voluntary, international doctors and helpers have returned to their home countries. Transport options between the villages were also only allowed to a limited extent and often not at all. As a result, the number of outpatients was reduced to about 50 per day, who were often in a very advanced stage of the disease or even in critical condition when they arrived at the hospital. Despite the country’s lockdown, teaching at the hospital continued. Distance learning programs have been set up that have enabled Laotian doctors and nurses to work on selected topics from home. The lockdown has been lifted since May, the doctors are back in the hospital and the number of cases is normalising slowly.
~ CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT ~
mitSprache e.V.
This year’s theatre project of the mitSprache association was already in the middle of preparations when the performance had to be cancelled due to the pandemic. However, the organisation for the next project in 2021 is already in full swing! The 10th edition of dance theatre will be performed on May 13 and 14, 2021. This time in cooperation with another one of our funding projects: students of the International Montessori School – Campus di Monaco! The venue will be the Theater HochX in Munich Au, which offers perfect conditions for this event.
This year Moving Child started supporting five additional projects: The Women Health Family Future association, the Institute Trauma and Pedagogy, the MiBi Kids, the Quinoa School, and the Wildwasser association in Berlin. We will soon provide more information on these projects on our website. We thank all projects for the wonderful cooperation and all donors for their support! All the best from us and may there be better days waiting for all of us in the second half of 2020!
Warmly, your Moving Child Team
Anna, Gertraud & Ella
