PROGRAMS OVERVIEW

ISCO focuses its support on 5 main areas which it sees as crucial to providing the best help to the sponsored children:

1. Children Educational Support
2. Children Activity Centres
3. Children Health and Nutrition
4. Children Protection and Right Advocacy
5. Children Preschool Activities

CHILDREN EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT

An ISCO educational support is more than just money. ISCO's educational support aims to give full support to marginalized children’s educational needs.

Beginning from a very young age (pre-school where possible) through to secondary level, ISCO makes sure that these children can and do go to school each day and supports them with school fees, uniforms and textbooks. ISCO maintains good relationships with teachers and school authorities, as well as with parents and monitors the intellectual ability and development of each child in order to be able to see each child have the chance to grow up to become a responsible and productive citizen.

ISCO is determined to bring up these children to make sure that they can pursue as high educational level as possible. In order to do this, ISCO maintains close monitoring at their school attendance, since they cannot afford to miss too many classes if they are to excel in the future.

The following table shows a sample of the school attendance record for ISCO has sponsored children for the period of April – June 2008 :

ISCO hopes that with a good school attendance record, the children will have a better chance of attaining good grades in their school work, and will have a better chance to going into good public schools in their later age.

The following table gives a good indication that these children do have a good chance !!!

An ISCO educational support is more than just money. ISCO's educational support aims to give full support to marginalized children’s educational needs.

ISCO monitors closely each student’s school attendance and performance, by working together with the school teachers to make sure that these children will have good chance to pursue higher education.

ISCO is currently working closely with 59 schools and institutions to assure the children’s quality of education.

>> More info

CHILDREN ACTIVITY CENTRES

ISCO realizes that in order to achieve its goals, providing formal schooling alone for these marginalized children, many of whose parents have not had much schooling, is not adequate. Reinforcement in the areas of personal development, living values, creativity and leadership is required.
 
For this reason, ISCO set up a Children Activity House in each neighborhood where it operates. Children are able to visit these Activity Houses after school to do interesting and educational activities, instead of going to the streets or being forced to work by their parents.

ISCO provides tutors, educational materials, arts and crafts activities, as well as remedial classes for children who have difficulties in certain school subjects.

To assist the tutors, ISCO provides guidelines or activity modules that will help the tutors or volunteers in involving the children with educational activities.
The modules consist of six broad areas that give emphasis on the following skills:

• Logical / rational / mathematical skill

• Social skill

• Language skill

• Science or exploration skill

• Arts and craft skill

• Moral and living values

The children are grouped into their age groups and spend about 1 -2 hours a day in the Activity House. ISCO also maintains attendance record at the Activity House for the children.
A sample of the attendance record for ISCO’s sponsored children for the period of April – June 2008 is as follows:

>> More info

CHILDREN HEALTH AND NUTRITION

After 2 years of operation, ISCO decided to add this important program to its main education program, since from the school attendance record that ISCO maintains all through the year, one of the major reasons that children were not able to attend their school classes was illness, mainly due to under nourishment. During the activities conducted in the Activity Houses, ISCO provides food supplement, vitamins and milk every week, to make sure that these children are not vulnerable to major disease. In some areas, ISCO starts to work with local PUSKESMAS ( Local Government Health Service) to conduct general check-up and dental check-up for the children to anticipate health problems in the future. ISCO also keeps the children physical statistics in the Activity Houses so that children can see their height and weight records every month. Here are the samples of menu in June 2008: >> More info

CHILDREN PROTECTION AND RIGHT ADVOCACY

Children Protection Program

The Children Protection Program is an important extension to the Health & Nutrition service, which was introduced in 2003 as indications of child abuse and domestic violence became more apparent.

ISCO provides full protection for children facing domestic violence, or parental negligence, whenever the case arises.

Now, ISCO is still using the Activity House as a temporary shelter house for children whose need protection. However, should the number of cases increase, ISCO will definitely look for a permanent type of shelter house to provide the service.

Children Right Advocacy

Education Right

ISCO strives to do the outmost to obtain good and cheap education for the children, not only for the children sponsored by ISCO, but also for all marginal children.

To do this, ISCO makes sure that the school authorities conduct a non-discriminative policy to these children, a transparent budget allocation, and goodwill to help the needy families. In some areas, ISCO’s Project Officers sit in the School Committee in order to have a direct involvement for Children Education Right Advocacy.

ISCO also works together with other NGOs in the forum entitled “center for betterment of education” to join hands together in giving inputs and building communication channel with the government via the Department of Education.

ISCO is also involved with various networking activities with other NGOs focusing on child welfare, child labor, and child trafficking. This network system is very important in building the way for ISCO’s future.

>> More info

CHILDREN PRESCHOOL PROGRAM

ISCO tries to give scholarships for marginal children starting from preschool or kindergarten age. ISCO found that kindergarten facilities for marginal preschool kids often has inadequate facilities or sometimes preschool doesn’t exist in slum areas. This motivates ISCO to establish a kindergarten run by ISCO itself to gives marginal kids opportunities to reap benefits since kindergarten age to give them equality in education since preschool age.

The ISCO children preschool program run by ISCO itself and the formal kindergarten program with learning and playing methods program for kids and also combine between theory and practices for them. ISCO preschool program aims for long term education awareness in marginal kids since preschool age. This also means that ISCO want in the future education starting from kindergarten, parents of marginal kids aware that good education from kindergarten age prevent this kids from become street children or child labourer and reduce the number of street children in the future.