Klubík- Our Club
“A place where we can be seen. Where we can try things and be supported. Where we can believe more in ourselves, and begin to believe in what we can do.”
Klubik is an after school enrichment activities club for marginalized children who live in hostel style housing in Ostrava. The building functions as a hostel for socially disadvantaged individuals, families, or for people who are in difficult life situations. The building and its inhabitants are stigmatized, and the children who live here face a harsh reality every day due to their environment and the many pressures of social exclusion and poverty.
We have been given permission to run a small club, the size of a very small 3 room flat, in which we help the children with their homework, and try to give them a little bit of time to play, to explore and identify their capacities and their interests.
We try to give them positive attention they seldom or never experience from adults, at home or at school. The club time is a bright spot in what is often otherwise a difficult day. We give the children the chance to try new things, explore various arts, sports and cultural activities and to generate interest in academics. We encourage their innate inquisitiveness, which has often been ignored or beaten down.
We also try to expose them to the norms of daily life that many of them do not get to experience growing up. Most importantly we try to open their world a bit, and encourage them to have dreams, learn to set goals and work toward them, and to gain important skills such as cooperation and resilience.
The time spent in the club is often the only bright spot for these children during their often difficult days.
we are more than what people see
"Our children need this club. It is a place where they are noticed and seen. Someone listens to them, and truly wants them to develop their talents and dreams.
The club is a place where they feel safe and spend their free time meaningfully.
They need us, the lectors, to praise them for their achievements and to help them through their failures. To help them distinguish what is right and what is wrong. To develop the child inside them, because their harsh circumstances force them to grow up far too early.”
-Rozina Ribeiro Monteiro, mentor and coordinator
CALL TO ACTION
Our team of dedicated lectors have done all they can, continuing to volunteer and be in connection as best they can, in order to keep the children’s spirits up during this difficult time. Your donation, no matter how small, will help us continue to support the children and their club, which has become so important to them, their happiness, their success and to their futures.
