Save the Children’s Inspiring Work with the Fountain of Hope

Save the Children

As a Global Team of 200 member, I’m starting to work more intimately with Save the Children. Originally, I was going to go to Nicaragua with them in August, but that trip was recently cancelled. Instead, I will be traveling with Save to Children in November to south east Asia.

The more I learn about Save the Children, the more my heart opens…and I only want to get more and more involved.

From the African Savannah to the Mississippi Delta, Save the Children helped 125 million girls and boys around the world in 2012. Combined with other Save the Children member organizations worldwide, they reach children in 120 countries, serving and providing support for education, health, protection, disaster relief and so much more.

Here’s what they are doing in Lusaka, Zambia…

Save the Children’s Work with the Fountain of Hope in Lusaka, Zambia

In Lusaka, Zambia, Save the Children works with street kids and orphans by funding the Sport in Action program at Fountain of Hope, a center in urban Lusaka (the capital of Zambia) that gives children an opportunity to get off the street even if just for a short while. Fountain of Hope provides a safe place for street kids and orphans to attend school, get a meal, play sports, go to the library, and learn skills through its technology program. Some of the children also reside at the center. Fountain of Hope only brings in boys who can stay at the center for six months.

With a total population size of 14 million in Zambia, there are a total of 75,000 street kids throughout the country. Programs like Sport in Action are such a gift to these children.

Sport In Action (SIA) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) whose purpose is to improve people’s quality of life through sport and recreational activities. Founded in 1998, SIA was the first Zambian sports NGO. Their mission is to use sport and recreation as a tool to improve the quality of children’s lives by providing programs that will bring about motivation, self-development, child protection and self-reliance through social and economic empowerment.

Brilliant, right!

Here’s what Jennifer James, the founder of Social Good Moms, said about Sports in Action, when she was in Zambia last week…

“While I visited Fountain of Hope this week, I saw quickly how popular and important the Sport in Action program is for both the girls and the boys who attend the center.  In the center courtyard the kids play soccer, traditional Zambian games, volleyball, and basketball. I was impressed by the attitudes of the children who although live on the streets are striving to be regular kids with homes and loving caregivers and who use sport to build character.”

You can read Jennifer’s full article here and view here pictures and videos from her trip to Zambia here.

I wrote this post as part of The Global Team of 200, a highly specialized group of members of Mom Bloggers for Social Good that concentrates on issues involving women and girls, children, world hunger and maternal health. Individually we are all powerful. Together we can change the world. We believe in the power of collective action to help others and believe in ourselves to make this world a better place for our children and the world’s children.

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