It is said that children are our future and the better off they are, the better off the whole society will be. And for children to feel good, they should have the opportunity to receive a quality education and have support in their family. However, the Czech education system suffers from many shortcomings and far from every child has an ideal home environment. These factors contribute to the emergence of inequalities in society.
The good news is that eight out of the twelve projects we accepted into the Impact First acceleration program focus on supporting the youngest generation. What do they address?
TEEN Enterprise
They didn't like how schools (don't) connect theoretical teaching with practice and they were also worried about young people's attitude towards entrepreneurship. That's why they founded the project TEEN Enterprise, which supports young entrepreneurs under the age of 18. They work with primary and secondary schools and today there is more interest in their services than they are able to provide. The team consists of about 20 people, for whom the project is a side activity to their business.
Living house
Salesians in Teplice have been operating centers for children and youth for several years. But they are now launching project Living house and schools offer programs that prevent bullying. Every child and parent can find refuge in them. However, they are currently raising 20 million to renovate an old daycare center, from which the Living House is to be built.
A truly healthy school
Healthy lunches in schools and educating children about food? That's what the project has been striving for for five years A truly healthy schoolAccording to them, the billions spent annually on school cafeterias should be spent meaningfully to support the healthy development of children. They are launching the Truly Healthy Region project, with which they want to encourage cooperation, especially with individual municipalities.
Inclusion Center
Every child should have the opportunity to fully develop their potential, the team believes. Inclusion centers. Therefore, it offers schools support activities, teacher training and support in working with children who have behavioral disorders. The association wants to expand its project to the entire Moravian-Silesian Region. There are about 600 schools in it that could participate in the future.
PositiveJE
Young people often move to big cities to study or work. But this has negative impacts on the regions they leave. Kamil Kavka from Jesenice spent 15 years living in Prague and when he returned to his native region, he decided to do something about the outflow of young people. He founded the initiative PositiveJE and supports entrepreneurship, provides career advice and organizes various events for young people in the Jesenice area.
Child in the spotlight
A difficult divorce can cause lifelong trauma to a child. In the Czech Republic, 22 minor children are exposed to divorce every year. Project Child in the spotlight offers several educational-therapeutic sessions, thanks to which children have the opportunity to show their parents their perspective on the conflict.
What I can do
Application What I can do will help children record their learning moments. Because the founders of the project believe that in order for an individual to develop their skills, they must first know themselves and their abilities. Over 3000 children have registered for it in the six years of its existence and it is free.
Brontosaurs in the Himalayas
Project Brontosaurs in the Himalayas supports a school in the village of Mulbekh in Little Tibet, to which founder Jirka Sázel has a personal relationship. Today, the organization has about 450 patrons and contributors. They want to open a new charity shop that will be financially self-sufficient and will offer quality products from the Himalayas.
2nd Chance Project
For example, Kateřina Černá uses her experience from London to help people with addictions through yoga. For over two years, she has been organizing yoga classes with her team. Project 2.Chance yoga lessons in a treatment center in Bohnice for women with addictions.
There we go.
There we go. in turn, brings together, trains and supports volunteers who help improve the world around us.
ROSKA Ceske Budejovice
The program jury was also interested in the project ROSKA Ceske Budejovice focused on patients with multiple sclerosis. This mainly affects young people between the ages of 20-40 and cannot be treated. However, regular exercise helps, so ROSKA recently opened a rehabilitation center for them.
Atlas of the World Today
The latest Impact First finalists call their project “political Google Maps.” A group of college students is building an online Atlas of Today's World, which will function as an interactive map. Do you also not know what the conflicts are like in the Middle East or Africa and how they affect our lives? The Atlas of Today's World will explain the world situation using verified scientific knowledge in a way that will help you orient yourself.
Impact First
The Impact First acceleration program targets people who have a vision of how to benefit their environment. It seeks regional leaders of socially or environmentally beneficial activities and offers them the opportunity to gain impetus to develop their potential.
In recent years, it has supported 120 mostly non-profit organizations.
