Beyond Trees

When we started Involve the Children, we had no idea how much more the organization would do for children, in addition to giving them the platform and resources to meaningfully participate in environmental conservation. Of course, transforming our environment, and getting children excited about conservation is a central part of our work, and that will always be the case. Additionally, we prioritize working with the most underprivileged children and we are supremely proud of what we have been able to do to ease some of the most pressing challenges they face in accessing education. However, we are happy to note, it is becoming increasingly clear that our impact extends beyond our direct work in environmental conservation and education. Our work is giving the children we work with a new lease of life that is difficult to capture in words! The children we work with come from very difficult domestic situations. Many of them have suffered and continue to suffer trauma associated with the myriad problems that abject poverty may present. For the first time in a long time, some of these children are getting engaged in a significant positive interaction. They are having someone listen to them. They are getting entrusted with an important responsibility and getting directly rewarded for the results they achieve. Some children have confided in us that they have been the subjects of sneering and bullying on account of their tattered uniform and worn out shoes. Being able to provide them with a new set of school uniforms and a quality pair of shoes not only gives us immense joy, but importantly, boosts their self esteem which soon leads to higher participation in class and co-curricular activities. The fact that we cover the parent’s contributions to school feeding programs means that our children don’t go hungry while other children eat. It further aids their physical and mental development. This, we judge, improves their social and academic prospects and makes them less susceptible to diseases and infections, reducing their school absenteeism. Some caregivers have told us of the drastic stress reduction they have experienced and confessed that they have enjoyed an improved relationship with the child we support. Our work has eased their economic strain which is beneficial to the child’s siblings and to the caregivers themselves. Through our work, we are giving hope to children that need it desperately. Children whose spirit had been stifled by poverty and worn out by constant adversity. We are working together with these children, their families, their schools and their communities to craft a new reality. A reality where these children feel valued as children and as human beings. We are involving these children in tackling the biggest challenge facing our society and devastating their communities - climate change. In and of itself, this tells them that they matter,that their contribution is welcome, and that they are more than just children growing up in poverty.