Children Inspiring Hope Brings the World Into the Classroom… and Beyond
The heart of what Children Inspiring Hope does is connect children through a tangible exchange of projects.
Learning together peacefully is fundamentally rooted in respect for cultural differences. CIH presents cultural videos and facilitates dialogue on the concept curricula of each exchange such as sharing our humanity, peace building and earth stewardship.
Students connect twice with their friends in one school year.
- CREATE: We appreciate that children engage best when they are self-directed co-creators in learning. Students are the decision makers in how they would like to express these concepts. It is their vision that determines the various mediums in which these exchanges occur, giving them personal investment and pride in the outcome of their work.
- CONNECT: CIH transports these projects to Africa, filming and photographing the receipt of these projects, documenting the impact on these children. The children then also create projects that are transported back to the U.S. When we return to the classroom or group in the U.S., the children are able to see their projects in the hands of children across the globe and also receive something tangible in their hands from their new friends.
- COLLABORATE: We have found that a connection to others naturally creates the desire to be of service. Several service projects have been created to harness the enthusiasm of students that would like to connect further. Some projects parallel and collaborative in nature such as Earth Day, where children can think globally, yet act locally. Others include sharing our resources, such as the library project where students are sharing their own books to go to building libraries in Africa.
We find students, teachers and volunteers have broadened perspectives having tangibly connected in their hearts and minds to the global community. Students are more curious and engaged academically. They are empowered that they can make a positive impact in the world while having fun at the same time, truly becoming compassionate citizens of the world.
A teacher at EP Primary Ho-Bankoe states, “Children Inspiring Hope is very educative and interesting. It promotes unity and love. This program is creative. “ Dr. Conner, a third grade teacher at St. Andrew’s School in Savannah, Georgia shared, “As students watched the slide and heard stories of the children in Ghana, they became more aware of the advantages they have in the United States. It opened up meaningful conversation. They began to have empathy for these other children. They also began to think of ways they could have impact on other people.” …. CLICK HERE TO VIEW MORE TESTIMONIALS
