Kids Helping Kids
Promoting Global Education
”You see. I see, we see.” As one example. A kid with a vision is an adult with a mission!!
The KidsGive mission to continue to educate U.S. Students about African life and culture while also providing students in Sierra Leone the resources to learn and become the next great leaders of their generation. In doing so, we needed to address the issue of lack of eye examination and resources to address and correct the vision of students in Sierra Leone. The EyeGive project is focused on addressing this issue within Sierra Leone, particularly with students from one of our oldest partnerships: the Conforti Primary School, located in the nation's capital of Freetown. After years of funding for student scholarships, the well project, and other resources, KidsGive decided to embark on a new project for our friends at Conforti with the EyeGive project.
During the Winter term of the academic year 2020-2021, a group of Lawrence University students came to together in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship course taught by Professor Skran, KidsGive Director - Edwin & Ruth West Professor of Economics and Social Science & Professor of Government, and Chair of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Looking further into the academic obstacles issues that students may face during their formal education, we found that there was a lack of resources for vision improvements with only 3 optometrists in the country. We also found that this issue stretches beyond the lack of resources; the classroom environment also made it difficult for students to pay attention and retain vital information. In recognizing this issue, the EyeGive project dedicated its time and resources to addressing the implications of poor eyesight from a young age and the lifelong impacts if they're not addressed properly.
The EyeGive Mission and Vision
Vision
To ensure all Sierra Leonean children at partnered schools are able to have access to glasses
Mission
EyeGive is devoted to providing reliable eyewear to students in Sierra Leone from underserved low-income communities in hopes of continuing to cultivate and promote an effective classroom setting
A Kid with Vision is an Adult with a Mission
Our Solution:
Focusing on general vision
-
Provide testing for the students during a weeks span campaign using the resources we have to test the students
-
Work with the schools to provide an agent that will navigate with us how we will take up testing the students at each location
-
Gather the resources needed from the United States to provide eyeglasses to the students. This may be through monetary donations and/or donations of previously acquired eyeglasses.
-
We would then distribute the eyeglasses to the students based on their eye test
-
The students will be registered from the earlier test and then the record of distribution will be established
Our goal is to provide general prescriptions for the eyeglasses
What we will need?
Tools:
-
Eyeglasses, Fames, and Cases
-
Optometry Test Kit
Resources:
-
KidsGive CLub - Practicum
-
LU General Body - Funding
-
Student orgs
-
Sigep, DG, Theta, Beta, SoLS,
-
Medical Students and orgs on campus
-
-
Other NGO dealing with EyeGlasses
-
All About Vision
-
EYElliance - Glasses Change Lives
-
Activities
Monday
-
In working to bring the eyeglasses through our student volunteer suitcases to minimize cost, they will first have the opportunity to interact with the students, visit classrooms, set up the examination areas, and encourage students to sign up with the help of the agent
Tuesday
-
On Tuesday the volunteers will begin to conduct examinations and engage in activities with the students
Wednesday
-
Further, educate the students and the community members on the importance of eyeglasses as we know CONFORTI is a very community-based school
Thursday
-
The students will have the opportunity to check in that day to school by first receiving their glasses matching their test results. Glasses will be distributed by the volunteers
-
They will also be given informative slips detailing more about eyeglass care. It will also be important to provide them with examination results so they may use them in the case of replacement
Friday
-
On the final day students will take part in vision-related activities with the volunteer
-
The volunteer will then visit other schools in at noon to begin to understands their demographics and how we can reach those partnered schools
During the weekend the volunteer will have the opportunity to visit other places and learn more about life and culture in Sierra Leone, providing them an enhanced global experience
Cost Analysis
-
In looking at the resources needed we estimated the cost of eyeglasses needed in the first campaign to be $600 being able to purchase about 100 glasses. These would be bought in bulk of 20.
-
The cost for frames will be half that at $300 with the cost of cases being about $250. The cost of fundraising will be $150.
-
Student travel expenses and stay would come out to about 2000 per student
Revenue Streams
Revenue Streams:
-
To cover the cost of carrying out the eyegive project and working to provide reliable eyewear to students in Sierra Leone, there are a few streams of revenue we will be taking up to raise funds. The first is being able to sell face masks with a KidsGive X EyeGive logo made with African fabric and sold for $20 at the cost of $5 with a $15 margin of profit. Similar to we will also be selling Sierra Leone map designee necklaces for $15 at the cost of $1-$5 with margins of profit of up to $10-$14.
-
There will also be other variations of donation drives as well
-
Our last source of funding will be geared towards grants through LUCC and LU grant programs for experimental learning for the Student volunteer which can go up to $4000.
Meet the Team
Born in Senegal and raised in the Gambia with an education background in the US, Papa Nicholas Jatta has shown a strong commitment to addressing social injustice through the means of social entrepreneurship. As a current senior majoring in Economics and Global Studies with a concentration in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, he has worked as a researcher under the direction of Prof Skran on a project called “Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries” and conducted empirical research on African developmental Economics. Jatta has shown his commitment to addressing underserved communities through his involvement in a volunteer and research project inside the Gambia, written grants for project funding directly to Sierra Leone-partnered schools, and is currently the president of KidsGive.
Papa Nicholas Jatta
Sidney Short first realized his passion for helping global students in need when he visited the Dominican Republic on a mission trip. There, he experienced the conditions of the schools and saw that there are ways to help. He is a French and Innovation and Entrepreneurship major who is interested in development in Africa and the Francophone World. Sidney seeks to tackle global education issues from a place of respect.
Sidney Short
With a strong interest in children’s education and humanitarian relief, Marifé Entenza-Sierra has worked as a teacher’s assistant in AEIOU Centro de Educación Infantil. She also attended the Critical Issues Summit in Thailand to discuss gender equality, specifically in Southeast Asia. She is currently a Global Studies and Innovation & Entrepreneurship major, with a specialization in Spanish and Arabic. Marifé has a passion for people, economics, and innovative problem-solving tactics. She is a student of life and adamantly fights for social justice reform.
A.J. Ulwelling first became interested in International Education while studying Russian in Moldova. Currently, he works as a representative for the American Councils for International Education to promote high school programs abroad. At Lawrence University, he is majoring in Russian and Global Studies with a minor in French. Overall, he is interested in seeing how his language studies can be applied to work in international education and aid.
Marifé Entenza-Sierra
A.J. Ulwelling