Child Welfare Scheme
www.childwelfarescheme.org T 020 7488 4394 london@childwelfarescheme.org
Child Welfare Scheme is a UK registered charity which was established in 1997 to support the pioneering work of Douglas Maclagan in developing children’s Day Care Health Centres in remote mountain villages in Nepal. Whilst the scale and diversity of CWS’s activities has increased substantially since then, the aim has remained the same: to address the unnecessary suffering of children in Nepal and provide opportunities for a brighter future.
CWS works in partnership with organisations supporting front line work with disadvantaged and vulnerable children, young people and communities. CWS projects are numerous and varied.
Sofronie Foundation supports:
The JYOTI Vocational Training Project
This vocational training centre (JYOTI VTC) provides courses to enable over 100 marginalised young people per year who are, for example, street children or ex-trafficked girls to become electricians, plumbers, computer operators and care workers and to become re-integrated in the community. Courses are long-term (3 years), practically based and involve work placements. The young people receive a high level of support, which includes accommodation.
As young people move into permanent employment they are provided short-term accommodation with social work and employment support to bridge the gap as they leave the highly supportive vocational training centre. This centre achieves remarkable results for marginalised young people with over 80% of entrants completing their course and achieving employment and a place in the community.
A Flying Start to Learning
This project introduces Early Childhood Development teaching in the region of Kapilvastu, Nepal through funding for CWS’ local partner, SGCDSK, with the aim to better prepare children for school and thereby increase their educational attainment. The project focuses on working with 30 ECD centres to improve the quality of the children’s learning.
Supporting street children in Bhutwal
The aim of this project is to give street and working children in Bhutwal a second chance. CWS works with a Nepalese organisation (CPCS) which acts as a bridge between life on the street and mainstream society. In Bhutwal, children are especially vulnerable to trafficking and CWS and CPCS provide support and protection by running a centre with a range of services. The centre provides a night shelter, washing facilities and meals produced in a children-run kitchen as well as safe lockers and a children’s bank.
There is also some informal education and social rehabilitation work. CWS is working to promote networking and co-ordination of services for street children in the wider region. Sofronie Foundation is contributing £26,540 to the project. This will pay some direct costs for the Bhutwal centre for one year, will fund some improvements to the centre and will fund the plan to co-ordinate and build the support available to street children in the West of Nepal.