Projects
Roots School | Roluos, Cambodia
Timeframe: 2017 - Today
Aim: To support education in Roluos, Cambodia, with a special focus on English and sustainability as a means to securing a fruitful future for the children of the region.
Story: Roots Cambodia intends to serve the community of Roluos in rural Cambodia, located 16km outside of Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor. Whilst the 5000 people who call Roluos home have the proximity to Cambodia’s tourism hub, they often lack the education to make the most of the opportunities available to them.
The main source of income for the people of Roluos is seasonal work in form of agriculture and construction. Often children are asked to help their families as short-term work force instead of attending school. Those who do attend school only do so for four hours a day, and rarely learn English or other life skills to an extent that encourages lasting careers and an understanding for the environment. Roots Cambodia seeks to improve school attendance and help students gain promising job opportunities in the long-run.
Involvement: Eunoia e.V. laid the foundation for Roots Cambodia to form as an NGO, in order to be accredited as a school in Cambodia. Eunoia e.V. also supported the project through on-site volunteers, school building plans, and various marketing activities, such as creating the name and logo whilst fundraising for teacher salaries and other running costs. Since the beginning of 2020 the school has continued to grow on its own. Eunoia e.V. remains in close contact with the NGO.
Teatro Estación Cultural | Tapachula, Mexico
Timeframe: 2020 -2021
Aim: To provide locals and migrants in Tapachula with a space for community engagement. We are supporting the building and maintenance of a space that will become an open air theater, education spot, and play space.
Story: Tapachula is on the border between Guatemala and Mexico. Thousands of migrants flee their home countries and enter over the border each year. Typically, Tapachula wouldn’t be their final destination, but because of pressures from America, the Mexican government has put measures in place preventing migrants from moving on.
Many of these families find themselves stuck - homeless, without access to food, healthcare, or education for their children. Their growing presence has created a rift between them and the local community. Together with FUNdaMENTAL team want to tackle the issue around lack of education for the children.
Involvement: We are assisting FUNdaMENTAL and the team of CCNY Graduate Architecture Students with the fundraising for the renovation of the cultural station, Estación Cultural Tapachula. This will allow children in the area to have a safe place to learn and play.
More information will follow. In the meantime, visit the project website.
Ulwazi Educare | Cape Town, South Africa
Timeframe: 2022
Aim: To provide South African children with an educational space to play. We are supporting the building of the elementary school’s jungle gym.
Story: Together with our local NGO partner Uthando, we are making history building the very first Early Childhood Development Centre (ECD) in South Africa made of tyres and recycled materials. The builder, Peter McIntosh from Natural Building Collective is a renowned builder, presenting courses around the world using sustainable building products.
Involvement: We are assisting Uthando and the team on the ground by fundraising and fully financing the jungle gym. This will allow children attending the school with a safe and fun place to learn and play.
Sonderpädagogisches Förderzentrum München-West | Munich, Germany
Timeframe: 2023 - Today
Aim: To support children with special educational needs with an enriching learning environment.
Story: Together with the Special Education School Principal, we enhance the educational experience of children with special needs in our home town. The Sonderpädagogisches Förderzentrum München-West specializes in supporting students with learning, language, and socio-emotional development needs. Currently, approximately 240 students are taught in 19 classes, along with 10 children in the School Preparation Facility (SVE).
Involvement: We sponsor school trips for kids to experience the local area, which include their first time in the Alps. Our support extends - but is not limited to - funding an inclusive and diverse library of books for children of all ages, ensuring accessibility to educational resources.
Hope Primary School | Moshi, Tanzania
Timeframe: 2021
Aim: To enable children to enter the formal, local education structure by supporting their basic primary school level education.
Story: Hope Primary School is situated in a very poor settlement of Kaloleni within Moshi. The majority of the people in this area, when not unemployed, seem to eke out a living from casual labor work. Some are involved in low level tourism work such as selling batiks on the street, some are in agriculture, others are small traders with stalls in the street, and some recycle items from the local municipal town dump that is a few minutes walk from the school.
The school was started by a retired head teacher, Mr. P. Msaki. The students at the school are, in most cases, orphans or single parent. This is a two-room school of approximately 90 students. Students receive basic education – the 3 R’s [reading, ‘riting, ‘rithmatic] and they do some singing and dancing too. The main aim is two-fold: to keep the children off the streets and to prepare them for formal primary education that would then give them hope of a chance later on in life.
Involvement: We partnered with Munich International School for this project, as their involvement goes all the way back to 2013. Funds go towards paying rent and utilities so that the school can function. Depending on the size of the donations that are provided, some of the donations also go towards getting some basic administrative supplies for the school, to buy some textbooks or writing books. We can also take some tangible items like pens, pencils, and clothes for the children.