About

Klubík is an after school children’s club which supports children who are among the most marginalized in the Czech Republic. The club is a safe space for tutoring and enrichment activities right where the children live in dormitory style housing (hostel) in Ostrava.

The club has become a mainstay of the daily life of many of the children. We have seen dramatic progress in the children’s focus, level of engagement, and their belief in their ability to create, learn, improve, and in the case of the older children, to set and attain goals. There have been several unexpected outcomes, including increase in the motivational desire to do well in school, and in the case of some of the older children, to work, as well as the desire to attain life goals they did not allow themselves to have previously.

From the team: 
We are a team of 5 mentors who create free time activities for the children who live at a residential hostel in Ostrava. The building functions as a hostel for socially disadvantaged individuals, families, or for people who are in a difficult life situations. The building and its inhabitants are stigmatized and by people from the surrounding area who go out of their way to avoid it.

The children who live in the building face a harsh reality every day, due to the environment in which they live, and the circumstances in which they grow up. 

We give the children the chance to try new things, to generate more courage and interest in academics, and to explore various arts, sports and cultural activities. 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 as they are in poverty. 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 perseverance that help them become more resilient.