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Where does International Humanity Foundation work:
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International Humanity Foundation
San Diego, USA
Half of IHF's mission is to educate the poor and the other half is to educate the world about the poor. Our vision is to strive for a world of leaders and citizens who have interacted with, and are truly knowledgeable about the world's poor. We believe in a "pass it on" philosophy where education is free and available for all who seek it. Those of us who have received a free education pass it on by helping others less fortunate by teaching, interacting and learning. With just a few hours a week, our volunteers, children and sponsors are changing the world we live in.
IHF is a non-religious, non-political, non-profit organization that strongly believes in an equal opportunity for all and in preserving the cultures, traditions and beliefs of the marginalized communities it works in.
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Current Projects
Our Centers
IHF has four locations in Indonesia, one in Kenya, and one in Thailand.
We established the centers in Kenya because we wanted to work in a country where famine existed but that was also relatively safe for our volunteers to work in, so they could visit famine stricken areas to personally see what the effects of hunger on society are, to learn what the signs of malnutrition are, and to help those who face malnutrition.
The Thailand location in Chiang Rai was established as a preventative measure against the trafficking of children as sex slaves, which has been a major problem in the region since the Vietnam War. According to the UN, human trafficking is the third largest portion of the black market in developing nations after the trade of illegal arms and narcotics and this fact is unfortunately prevalent in Thailand, a country where sexual slavery has started incorporating into the tourism industry.
Indonesia has IHF centers in Jakarta, Bali, Aceh, and Medan. These centers primarily focus on educating children through the TEP and Class Sponsorship programs with some centers teaching over 400 students. The centers provide an informal place for children from lower economic classes to work with volunteers, which teaches the children to feel comfortable with people from different backgrounds at a young age.
Our Programs
Our programs are designed to fulfill our mission of both educating the poor and educating the educated about the poor. For example, many people do not realize that public education is not free in countries such as Kenya, Thailand, and Indonesia and that therefore most of the poor are unable to afford to send their children to school.
The Education Program (TEP) allows a person to sponsor a child's education costs for only USD $10.00 per month, which include the costs for tuition, books, uniforms and graduation ceremonies.
We have many other wonderful programs including the Class Sponsorship, Orphan Sponsorship, Medical Sponsorship, Famine Feed, Survival Program and Tribal Peace Farm.
The TEP sponsorship program was created to assist impoverished children who can not afford the costs of public schooling.
Unfortunately, public education is not free in most developing countries where students are required to pay for their tuition and if not direct tuition then they are required to pay for "teacher special fees" or "desk fees" or mandatory replacement uniforms or books, exams, and graduation and other ceremonies. These fees are why the poorest children are never able to attend. Instead, they work in sweatshops and rice fields, perpetuating the family's poverty. Sponsors are encouraged to communicate with each child thereby forging links between people of varying cultures to learn about each other and grow together.
TEP embodies IHF's "Pass It On" philosophy, a philosophy that encourages people who have received a free education to pass it on to others. For only USD $10.00 per month a TEP sponsorship allows a child to attend public school with 100% of the money going towards the children's school costs.
IHF verifies that all TEP applicants are actually the poorest of the poor by sending volunteers to the children's homes and, in order to insure that all donated money is only spent on schooling, TEP recipients are required to obtain a principal's or director's signature for all expenses.
The Class Sponsorship program
The class sponsorship program consists of English, Math, and Computer classes that are taught by volunteers at each center. The program was created as a supplement to The Education Program (TEP), which allows children to attend public school, because we could not financially afford to admit all TEP applicants and because the public schools that serve the children of IHF are located in poor areas and do not provide a good quality education. For example, many of these schools do not teach computer skills or a level of math that is required for high school entrance exams. Additionally, there is a mentality among some of the teachers that because the children are poor they will never require a higher level of education.
Dollar for dollar, the class sponsorship program has the greatest long term impact on the children of IHF. The cost to educate each student is approximately USD $1.50 to USD $2.00 per month and covers the volunteer teacher's monthly per diem of USD $50.00-USD $60.00, electricity costs of the center, and the salary of the center's director.
The Orphan Sponsorship program
IHF prefers placing children with relatives and only accepts children into their orphanage as a last resort. Most of the orphans do not have parents due to plagues, the tsunami, HIV, or abandonment caused by financial hardship. When these desperate children have nowhere else to go, IHF becomes their legal guardian and they become part of the family in the orphanage!
The safe homes are run as a family and never as an institution because an informal environment where children can can feel comfortable and be themselves is crucial to their integration into society. An informal and transparent environment allows all members to speak about their problems, which creates an atmosphere that is conducive to growth and learning.
The cost of bringing a child into an orphanage is USD $37.00 per month. This amount is calculated by taking the total cost for food, toiletries, housing, clothing, utilities, housemother wages and dividing it by the number of orphans housed at each center; therefore, the money that is donated for an orphan sponsorship does not go directly to an individual child, instead, the money goes towards the costs of running that child's orphanage.
Larger expenses such as medical fees are not included in the monthly cost for orphan sponsorship. IHF has recently introduced medical sponsorship, where you may sponsor a child for ongoing medical care in addition to orphan and TEP sponsorship.
The Medical Sponsorship program
Our Medical Sponsorship Program (MED) was developed to provide the children living at our Orphanages / Safe-Homes with better medical and dental care.
Given that the children living within our Orphanages / Safe-Homes often require medical and dental care, we implemented the Medical Program to help finance these high costs.
The monthly donations go towards financing medical and dental expenses for the children. This includes: regular medical and dental exams, doctor and dentist visits, prescription medications, emergency medical / dental, hospitalization, etc.
Because not every child will need this amount each month, and some may need more, the extra money will go into a Medical Fund per center and be used when one of the children need extra medical or dental attention.
This system is similar to a medical insurance policy that can roll from child to child within a center, but that is firstly dedicated to the child sponsored. This way, there will always be enough money for the unforeseen illnesses and accidents children often have.
The Survival Program program
Goats and camels are a major source of survival for many East Pokot tribes due to their inability to farm on the land they live. Unfortunately, the land that many tribes live on has turned into sheer desert to the point of becoming unfarmable and additionally the Kenyan government has not given these tribes legal ownership over the land they live on, which makes farming even more difficult.
The goats and camels are used to help families survive the drought period. Due to scarcity of water, goats are used for their milk and gently pricked for their blood but unfortunately they can not provide throughout the entire drought and are finally slaughtered for their meat. Camels, on the other hand, are not slaughtered because they are able to provide milk throughout the entire drought.
With a purchase you will receive a certificate, which can be used as an acknowledgment of ownership. Once our volunteers in Kenya hear the good news about a new purchase, they will go to the auction market to buy the livestock and then travel to the outlying rural areas to distribute it to families in need. You will also receive a photo which will be of your purchased goat or camel and the family it was given to.
If there is enough food available for survival then the livestock is used for our peace program where a tribe receives the livestock and gives it to a rival tribe as a gift.
In addition to donating a goat or camel, for only USD $5.00 you may also donate a chicken to our orphans, poor single mothers and families who can not afford to buy a goat.
Partner Needs
Our most important need is to ensure that all the orphans who live at our centers are sponsored. This ensures them the possibility of a better life in terms of education, nutrition, health, ...
TEP, Class or medial sponsors are also needed
Please teake your time and check our last updated list of children sposntors at: http://www.ihfonline.org/sponsor.php
More specific needs of our organization vary depending on the center and location of it.
Indonesian Centers needs
- Computers: A s econd-hand computer (more than enough because the students use it for office only basically) costs around Rp500.000, 55-60$, and a second-hand screen around 30$. So for 80$ you get a second-hand computer (processor+screen). Well kept as they prepare it and assemble it from second-hand pieces. it is very common in here to buy second-hand500$ means 6 second-hand PC which would be wonderful. Say 4PC + repairs and upgrades of other 5-6 PC (repairing is also cheap)- Benches for students: Each long bench (around 1,5m long) for around 10$, one bench is for three students. In Medan we could use some. Maybe 10 new benches. In other centers they use tables and plastic chairs.- Roofs are expensive. And depends very much of the problem. We have fixed Medan's for little more than 20$ and lots of cement. But sadly tiles and others repairs do cost much money.- Electric upgrades. Some Centers are too dark and need more fluorescents. 50$ could do many things, 100$ miracles
Financial Needs
Our most important need is to ensure that all the orphans who live at our centers are sponsored. This ensures them the possibility of a better life in terms of education, nutrition, health, ...
TEP, Class or medial sponsors are also needed
Please teake your time and check our last updated list of children sposntors at: http://www.ihfonline.org/sponsor.php
The Education Program (TEP) allows a person to sponsor a child's education costs for only USD $10.00 per month, which include the costs for tuition, books, uniforms and graduation ceremonies.
The cost of bringing a child into an orphanage is USD $37.00 per month. This amount is calculated by taking the total cost for food, toiletries, housing, clothing, utilities, housemother wages and dividing it by the number of orphans housed at each center; therefore, the money that is donated for an orphan sponsorship does not go directly to an individual child, instead, the money goes towards the costs of running that child's orphanage.
The class sponsorship program seeks to build grass-root connections between students in the west and the poorest of the poor students overseas. It costs USD $30.00 a month to sponsor a class of approximately 15 to 20 students (USD $1.50 per student a month). These classes teach the fundamentals of education in order to provide a way for these impoverished children to rise out of an unheard and unseen life. They are taught English, Computer, and Leadership skills.
Mission Statement
Half of IHF's mission is to educate the poor and the other half is to educate the world about the poor. Our vision is to strive for a world of leaders and citizens who have interacted with, and are truly knowledgeable about the world's poor. We believe in a "pass it on" philosophy where education is free and available for all who seek it. Those of us who have received a free education pass it on by helping others less fortunate by teaching, interacting and learning. With just a few hours a week, our volunteers, children and sponsors are changing the world we live in.