International charities shouldn’t operate in isolation. Instead of running private programs, they should collaborate with the public system. Here’s why:
For years, we ran our own private youth centres. We had three youth centres operating in privately rented facilities across Battambang. These centres successfully prevented children from ending up in orphanages by providing the essential services children receive in orphanages – health, nutrition and education support – but ensuring children are able to remain living with their families. It was a very successful program and far more cost-effective than orphanage care, but it will still be one of our most expensive programs to run. The youth centres were also located outside of the communities and so only reached a select few, leaving many vulnerable children behind.
Our Village Hive Project saw us integrate these youth centres (along with all our other services) into the public sector. Instead of operating out of private rented facilities, we embedded them into the public schools in our Village Hive communities. The youth centres then became an after-school care service available to the entire community.
The result of this integration with the public sector is that our overheads have dropped as we’re no longer renting private facilities and paying for all the utilities. The schools have also started generating an income from the service by charging a modest fee for families who can afford it (vulnerable families who are progressing through the Village Hive early intervention journey access the services for free).
It’s become a sustainable program that ensures children’s basic needs are met while giving families an opportunity to work and grow their income to escape poverty.
Watch Kali’s story to see how this service has transformed the lives of a family living with disabilities.
