More than 264 million (BBC, 2017) children do not have access to school or cannot attend due to circumstances. A large portion of these children live in Africa. OSWW’S program—currently in South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Malawi—is offered free of charge to children who have become educationally marginalized through poverty, the need to work for survival, the time constraints of caring for family or through other circumstances beyond their control which have made their attendance at traditional school either impossible or very infrequent.

Typically, our learners have some or all of the following characteristics:

  • They’re children aged 7 – 15
  • In urban areas, they’re most often street children, orphaned by HIV/AIDS
  • In rural areas, they’re most often orphans or children caring for their siblings or sick parents
  • Most often, they have never attended school and are unable to read and write
  • Those who have attended school have large gaps in their education and need the basics or are unable to read or write

Here is one story from among the 35,000 children we have been able to help:

Maybe was born in Zimbabwe but now lives today on a rubbish dump in Mooiplaas, South Africa. Her father scavenges for anything he can recycle. Her “house” is a small tin and cardboard shack; she bathes out of a bucket, wears the same donated school uniform every day, and usually goes to bed hungry. But those who meet Maybe are immediately impressed by her resolute spirit, beautiful smile and contagious joy. She never misses a day of Open Schools. Despite her dreadful circumstances this little girl loves Jesus and always offers to pray for the other children when they are sick or emotionally distraught.

© 2020 - Open Schools Worldwide - a ministry of TeachBeyond