And as Magic Johnson said:

»All kids need is a little help, a little hope and somebody who believes in them«

About us

We are a group of friends who want to make a change in the world. That kind of change that will offer African children the possibility to get an education that will allows them to flourish and shine like a light, for which they will be forever grateful.

Our story began when our President, Petra Mežnarc, travelled to Gambia: a small, almost invisible country in West Africa.

Petra was travelling there to visit a young girl called Maimuna that she had been sponsoring for some time. Whilst there, Petra spent most of her time at Maimuna’s school, New Yundum.

Once in Gambia, Petra met with Sankung Manjang – the President of the non-profit organisation Helping Hands for Young Children – Gambia (or Helping Hands, a registered charity in Gambia). Sankung is also an IT teacher at New Yundum school. Using the contributions collected before leaving Slovenia, and with Sankung’s help, Petra bought school supplies and Sankung assisted with the purchases, transportation and their distribution amongst the school children. Supplies were given to the poorest students and to those who had lost one or both parents. Helping Hands had been offering assistance to the less fortunate local children for some time, providing them with basic necessities such that they can participate in school activities and follow the curriculum as equals to the more fortunate classmates. When Petra saw the situation with her own eyes, the biggest surprise was when she noticed that an individual child isn’t given a whole set of coloured pencils, but just one and at maximum, two for the youngest children. Can you imagine your children not having coloured pencils at primary school? Somethings that we take for granted can be a luxury in Africa.

Petra returned to Slovenia, full of positivity, enthusiasm and determined to help other children in Gambia so the decision was made: to bite into the bureaucratic mills and set up a charitable organisation, and Hope for kids of Africa was born. The organisation is a voluntary and independent, non-governmental, non-profit association to enhance the education of African children and young people. Assistance is offered through donations collected by Hope for Kids of Africa, and a distance sponsorship system. Donations are offered to individual child’s parent(s) or guardian and additional special donations will be used to improve schools and teacher’s education. Hope for Kids of Africa has partnered with Helping Hands to facilitate this project and our objectives. Our goal at Hope for Kids of Africa is to carry out charitable activities to improve the quality of life of children in Africa and to enable them to be included equally in the education process and prevent social exclusion. Our aim is to offer an education to the most vulnerable children from the most poverty-stricken families and to those who have suffered the loss of one or both parents. Our organisation seeks to ensure the dignity and equal opportunities of children in Africa.

Founders:

Petra Mežnarc, the President

Tomaž Dujc

Nika Štok

Volunteers:

Alastair Belson

Petra Trošt

Milorad Šćekić

Our mission

To protect and promote children's rights.

To strive to involve children equally in educational processes, especially those who are most marginalised and in need of assistance.

To advocate for the most vulnerable and discriminated children, especially orphans.

To advocate equal schooling opportunities for both boys and girls.

To provide financial assistance to alleviate social distress.

To provide financial assistance for education through a sponsorship programme.

To nurture the development and diffusion of charitable activities and humanitarian thinking amongst others,

both in Slovenia, Africa and elsewhere in the world.

To encourage the quality development of children through comprehensive education opportunities.

To cooperate with international and related organisations with similar intentions and goals.

These are the fundamental goals of Hope for Kids of Africa and our number 1 priority is to find sponsors for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children. We are also intensively looking for donations that will help us to keep our charity organisation alive and for specific additional projects, such as building new schools, improving the teacher’s qualifications, etc.

And as Magic Johnson said: »All kids need is a little help, a little hope and somebody who believes in them«We are also convinced that behind every child that believes in themselves, there is someone else who believed in them first. Become a sponsor and give hope and confidence to those children.

TRANSPARENCY Hope for Kids of Africa is a registered charity in Slovenia, organisation number 2700522000. We aim to run our operations with the upmost professionalism, offer a service to the highest standards and provide feedback with absolute transparency. Once you have sponsored a child in Gambia, we believe it would be beneficial for both the sponsor and the child to see the changes that your donation will offer. You will have the possibility to speak with the parent(s) or guardian(s) and receive regular photos of the amazing changes that will take place in the child’s life, thanks to your generosity. How can you become a sponsor of an African child? How Can I become a sponsor

When you decide which child you would like to sponsor, we will send information on how to set up the regular monthly payments.

We ask a monthly donation of €20. Donations can also be made as a 6-monthly or annual payment of €120 or €240 respectively.

If you ever want to send more money (for birthdays, holidays, etc.), please let us know by email: hopeforkidsofafrica@gmail.com.

You can find a list of children at our Facebook profile: Facebook

Sponsorship

»Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared« - Buddha

Why would you decide to help a child who lives far away from you when you don't even know them?

Life can be tough for kids in Africa. With a very basic standard of living, many grow up in poor settlements, often lacking enough food and some do not attend school at all because their parents are too poor. Not all children have their own toys, their own crayons and some don’t even have their own shoes or jackets.

This is where we come in, together with you. Let your decision come from the heart, let it come from the desire to be a light in some else's heart. A gift that we give to someone is actually meant for ourselves and is never a waste and generosity is a virtue that not everyone possess. To give something and expect nothing in return.

Although in the act of giving we warm our own hearts, above all we connect with people from the other side of the world and enrich their lives.

It is not a decision to be taken easily, but it is a decision that is sincere and remains permanently marked in ourselves and all those that receive our help.

You’re your sponsorship their lives can change. The donations you give monthly to a child is received by their parent(s) or guardian(s) and is primarily intended for the children’s education. This includes ensuring that the child:

Is properly dressed with enough school uniforms that are not torn. Has decent shoes. Has a school bag. Has pens, pencils and paper to take notes. Has money for lunch every day.

Has access to transportation to get to and from the school.

Our organisation is firmly committed to controlling the use of that money. We will ensure that the money will get into the right hands. Why is this so important to us?

Because we know what it’s like when our donations don’t get where they should as unfortunately we have had first-hand experience in this.

Our top commitment is that you know who gets your donation and how it is being spent.

How Can I become a sponsor?

When you decide which child you would like to sponsor, we will send information on how to set up the regular monthly payments.

V kolikor želite kdaj poslati več denarja (za rojstne dneve, praznike...) nas o tem obvestite na elektronski naslov: hopeforkidsofafrica@gmail.com.

We will then send you a statement of sponsorship, which we would request is signed and returned. We ask a monthly donation of €20. Donations can also be made as a 6-monthly or annual payment of €140 or €280 respectively. The average Gambian salary is about €30 per month and that your financial support will have a huge impact. The child’s parent(s) or guardian(s) will receive your donation on a monthly basis - this approach was selected as and we feel it would not be appropriate to send all the funds at once.

Funds are transferred to Help for Kids of Africa on 20th of each month, after which the collective donations are transferred to our partner charity in Gambia, who take care of the distribution of the funds to the respective parent(s) or guardian(s). It is common that they do not own a bank account, hence it is necessary to contact them individually and funds are distributed in cash. Once the sponsorship process is complete, we will send you a short biography about the child, including their age, number of siblings, short description of their personality, etc. We will also ensure that you will receive photos of the child you are sponsoring twice a year and sponsors can decide to visit the child they sponsor. It is also possible to arrange a video call. If at any point you would like to offer a larger donation, for birthdays, festivities, etc., we would welcome and accommodate your request.

You can stop your sponsorship at any time. Just let us know the exact date you wish to cease the payments so that we can find look for a new sponsor for that child.

How much money do the parents or guardians receive?

Banking transactions are chargeable by both the sending (Slovenian) and receiving (Gambian) banks and fees are typically about €2 - €3 (from €20). In addition, transfers to Hope for Kids of Africa also incurs banking fees, especially when find arrive from outside Slovenia. Donations are transferred in Euros (EUR) from Slovenia and are received in in Gambia in Gambian Dalasi (GMD).

The final amount in GMD is subject to fluctuations in the international banking exchange rate.

We are also available to answer any concerns or questions you might have – you can simply drop us a message to: hopeforkidsofafrica@gmail.com .

Our goal is to find various donors so our organisation can prosper. For now, the organisation’s operational costs are paid by the founders and donors and sponsors will be informed of any changes to this set up.

»Before we can bring happiness to others, we first must be happy ourselves; nor will happiness abide within us unless we confer it on others«
Maurice Maeterlinck