Who We Support
Guidelines for NGO’s Seeking ACN Support / Future Projects
ACN funds:
A. Child Support. Please see Who are the children we help?
B. Vocational Training. Vocational training is often critical to assisting children with special needs to become self-reliant. ACN believes that through counseling and vocational preparation for entry into remunerative working life, young people with special needs who are qualified for a particular job should be either employed at equal wages alongside other workers, or be given an opportunity through micro-financing to start their own micro-businesses.
Vocational Training should be supported in the context of a bigger program that also encompasses independent living skills that they will need once they depart the institution or foster home in which the children have lived. All vocational training must be built on market research and with actual job procurement in mind to alleviate the too common problem of trainees being unable to find a job in the profession for which they have been trained.
ACN's vocational training programs will also be made accessible to a set number of children without aspecial need,other than the need to join a training program otherwise not accessible inthe district. The rationale for admitting a set number of "healthy" children to the program (assuming that the laws of a country allow for such integration) is that if "healthy" children can work alongside children with special needs, they will theoretically swallow their fear of those with disabilities or illnesses once they have an opportunity to get to know and to train alongside them (and even advocate on their behalf after training).
C. Independent Living Centers. In these centers previously institutionalized children learn the skills necessary, e.g., cooking, ironing, budgeting, shopping, etc. that lead to greater self-reliance.
D. Micro-financing to support a young adult’s entrepreneurial initiative. ACN believes that ideally micro-financing should be associated with mobile teams that are dedicated to assisting such efforts, so that beneficiaries of micro-financing are visited once a month by a team member to review and give advice on the initiative receiving financial support. All recipients of small loans must be required to repay these loans in reasonable installments. Support does not translate into charity, so we mustn’t demean entrepreneurs’ efforts by offering it.
E. Sheltered Industry. Setting up a sheltered industry (i.e., industry dependent on external assistance) must be motivated by the desire to help employees gain as much self- reliance as possible. Market research is, of course, critical to determine local market needs.
ACN believes that support is most beneficial when:
A. Opportunity is equalized for all with special needs (even if sponsoring organizations focus on specific illnesses/disabilities).
B. Initiatives concentrate on peoples’ strengths, not their weaknesses.
C. The need for foreign intervention is phased out from day one so that those indigenous to the area can eventually assume responsibility for program successes.
For more information on whether your project qualifies for ACN support , email Dr. Klein (fklein@assistingchildreninneed.org).
Next Section: Volunteer.
Contact Us
Assisting Children in Need (ACN)
600 Cameron Street
Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
Tel: +1 703 340 1677
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