Givology - give to learn, learn to give

SKIP is a charity registered in Peru, the US and the UK, working towards a Peru where each child realizes his or her full potential through quality education, economically stable families and healthy home environments. In SKIP we strongly believe in working with the entire family, that is why we focus on the core of it with emphasis on how every person is shaped. In partnership with parents, carers and kids, we take a holistic approach, sharing the necessary tools for them to improve their way of living.
The Back to School 2019 project aims to supply all of the children who attend SKIP with the means to enroll in their public school, with all the supplies needed for that year plus their school uniform. We want to provide the children we work with the unrestricted and unhindered access to education. Peru does provide state-run education which is non-fee paying. However, there are added costs which are not covered by the government; enrollment fees, school uniforms and shoes and school supplies which are prohibitive for families living in poverty.
We will be providing school supplies and covering the enrolment fee for the 215 children who participate in the SKIP programme. We will also be providing school uniforms and shoes to 125 of those children (the next year the remainder of the pupils will receive a new uniform and shoes). The families are encouraged to look after the uniforms for two years, to promote responsible ownership and not breed dependency on SKIP. If a child grows out of their uniform in the intervening year, the family is encouraged to swap with another family who may have an older child getting a new uniform that year. The enrollment fee and school supplies are other hidden fees which are required in order for the SKIP families to send their children to school.
One school uniform & pair of shoes = $26
School supplies = $15
Enrollment fee = $3

Why donate?
Through covering these costs, we empower families to prioritise education for their children without incurring financial consequences that may lead to children's basic rights not being met. By covering enrolment fees and school supplies we enable all 215 children to begin school on time with no concerns regarding paying the enrolment fee on time, and on a level playing field to everyone else. From our experience we know there are multiple additional reasons why school uniforms are important for the families we work with:
School uniforms allow children to be equals with their peers, free from judgment based on the clothes that they are wearing.
School uniforms can be "kept for best" where families don't have enough money to keep a set of clothes for this purpose.
School uniforms help children to identify with and take pride in their school.
To fund the purchase of 125 school uniforms and pairs of shoes equates to $3,250 and to pay for school supplies and registration for 215 students equals $3906. As a small charity working on a tight budget, this is a substantial sum of money. Your donations will allow us to use the rest of our funds to concentrate on our core work in the SKIP classroom.

We have been providing this particular type of support for the children and parents of SKIP for a number of years now. The systems of poverty confronting families in El Porvenir inhibit children's early academic growth and cognitive stimulation. Our education program was created to complement the regular school system and help to combat any disadvantage that could be compounded by the education children receive in the under-resourced and overcrowded public schools of El Porvenir. This is why our program directly supports the children at school with help to finance their school education, including fees, uniforms and materials for school. We also offer a safe place to come every day after school to complete homework or read in the library. In addition to this, we provide additional lessons in English, Math, and Communication and a number of extra-curricular activities such as Art and Sport to supplement the classes at school.

The funding will affect all of the 124 families enrolled in the SKIP programme. It will effect 215 children. This project provides a huge emotional and financial relief for the families as they are no longer under pressure to cover these costs themselves. It allows all 215 children to enroll in school without hassle and start the school year on an even playing field with children who come from a more economically advantaged background.
125 children will be given a new school uniform and a new pair of shoes
215 children will have their enrollment into public school funded
215 children will have the purchase of their school supplies for that year funded

For the families SKIP works with the costs they would be paying at the start of the school year would be a significant percentage of their monthly income. A school uniform and pair of shoes for a child in SKIP costs 85 soles ($26). This is a large sum of money for the families that we work with, 80% of whom live on an average income of $1.59 per day, per person in the family. For families living in this level of poverty, any expense that they can be spared frees up some of their limited resources, meaning parents don't have to choose between fulfilling their children's right to adequate food and health and their right to education.

We have 13 members of staff on the payroll, 12 of whom are Peruvian. In 2017 we had the support of 115 volunteers, 23 of whom were Peruvian, the rest coming from all over the world.