Inspire and give hope

Comment by Raymond M. Kristiansen on March 10, 2010 at 1:30pm

Tons of things here!

First of all, you need to do some research:

1) Are organizations already working with this?
What organizations are they if there are any? Do those organizations have public reports? Have they stated what their biggest challenges are? (Money, personell, materials, ideas, something else)

2) How big is the problem? Well, of course you can say "millions of children", but I guess my question is more like - "what % of children are having these challenges?"

2) What would be very effective ways to improve their mental abilities? Access to a computer? Access to schooling at All? How many of these children are unable to attend school today? Why are they unable to go? Lack of money? Lack of available space in school nearby?

And so on :) Keep us informed, and look for collaborators! Be that local organizations or others who have the same goal

Comment by happyseaurchin on March 10, 2010 at 3:28pm

people are used to having "gap" years here in the UK
would be nice if they were a little more substantial

i suggest a thing called actuator:
an actuator is someone who is microfinanced by friends and family
£25 a month for a year
(about the cost of a mobile phone line rental)
and they are then free to be of service to humanity

some with say £625 money-through a month
could be very useful in the villages you are talking about

no organisations
no bureaucracy
just direct flow of money through trust relationships to those who need it

taken from
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/small-book-big-think/832...

Comment by Nick Heyming on March 10, 2010 at 5:36pm

Wow, what a tough problem to face. In America, we have alot of programs that try to give basic education and work to people with mental disabilities. Its still not a perfect system though. I'm sure you could come up with a good solution for your community if you talked to enough people.

Comment by Wasserperson on March 11, 2010 at 12:45am

Is creativity the ingredient to happiness for these children? What about purposefulness?
Are there farms or agricultural projects they could be recruited to (without exploiting their labor)?

Comment by Allan Agumya on March 12, 2010 at 10:23am

Education here in places like these is not on the right track. The system is not efective its releasing semi-literates but not people who are who are fully isufficent mentally.The free education in uganda was implemented but no full researched on.that the problem.thats anyway

Comment by Shakwei Mbindyo on March 12, 2010 at 10:52am

Hey Raymond, Jambo from Kenya! Without much knowledge of the specific region you are talking of I would suggest a 2-pronged approach. 1st stop this trend in its tracks by encouraging the growing of indigenous foods and 2nd give these already affected people a "fish". There is a school for the deaf near where I live currently. These are deaf adults who because of their disability were shunned by their families/communities. This schools teaches various trades. The businesses within where I live then employ many of these deaf to work at the till in a store or assist clients in cyber cafes or assist in the local gym. Perhaps a similar initiative may work??

Comment by Sylvain Ratelle on March 12, 2010 at 3:29pm

Allan, while being far away from your country, I believe that mental capabilities are quite evenly distributed all over the world, but social organization and individual opportunities may not be, Let’s look at possible solutions, I will follow your blog, Regards

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