Tim and Ceri, founders ‘A Passion For Africa,’ explain the vision for The Children’s Village
We will develop ‘A Passion For Africa’ Childrenʼs Village for children who have been orphaned or are in need. It will house up to 100 children in families. We will provide a community centre that will serve as a multi purpose facility, housing a training centre, skills workshop, after school care facilities and much more. We will provide a medical centre that will be staffed with doctors and nurses as appropriate. The Childrenʼs Village will provide vital support to the people that live in it as well as itʼs surrounding communities. It will be developed by local people to address local needs. The houses in our village will be smart, individually designed and distinctive, painted in pastel shades. Each house will have its own garden full of tropical plants and bushes. Our villages will also provide communal football fields and playgrounds for their residents.
We will create a unique strategic growth plan for each village, based on a programme of phased development.
Sustainability of the project within the local context will be ensured by our ‘A Passion For Africa’ Sierra Leone Board, overseeing village elderships working in partnership with people from within the community and beyond, both professionals and otherwise. (These partnerships will include social workers, counsellors, medical staff, pastors, teachers, government agencies, NGOʼs, charities and others, local, national and international.)
The Key To Success
The key to the Childrenʼs Village project success will be its continuing programme of community consultation and participation. This will enable local people, over a period of time and with the necessary training, to take ownership of the project to guarantee sustainability and longevity.
We will seek to make increasing use of natural, renewable resources to provide for the ongoing energy needs of our communities in an innovative and eco-friendly manner. Our village will provide a cohesive, co-operative, organised community in which well behaved and lovingly disciplined children will live in families of 4-6 people at a time. Each family will be cared for by a dedicated house parent who will provide a high level of care in a loving environment.
A community based training programme will run in the village, accessible to residents and to people in the surrounding area. Each programme will seek to cover personal and spiritual development, life and leadership skills, vocational and creative arts skills. We will also provide a school to cater for the educational needs of children living in the village. We will develop local agricultural projects that will provide a large proportion of the village food requirement, with any surplus being sold to finance other village projects. Projects within our villages will seek to provide employment opportunities not only for people living in the village, but also for people living in the surrounding areas
