Our Mission is to be a bridge that connects everyone who lives deprived of dignity and everyone else who can and wants to help but often does not know how to do it.
THF plays an active role with CHILDREN who live in extreme poverty and with ADULTS in a situation of vulnerability and social exclusion.
We intend to ensure that CHILDREN will always have access to healthy food, education, extra-school support, basic hygiene and health care, and access to sports, arts and other areas that make sense in the communities in which they live.
But our mission is also to empower ADULTS through training, support and follow-up, as well as in the search for work solutions, either by supporting job searches or creating businesses and supporting entrepreneurship.
THF approach supports all children for the success of their education and to enable them to attend public school, the only solution that will give them equivalencies and that is multidisciplinary, for example. In Cambodia's case, when children do not go to public school, it is usually for one of the following reasons: They have to work to help to their family income; They don't have school uniforms (about $8/each); Or they are in secondary education and need to pay a monthly fee for each of the extracurricular subjects needed to advance their studies.
THF initially helped 2 children from the village with the payment of these monthly fees, and bought till now dozens of school uniforms, in a system of donations or sponsorship, but we believe that these are unsustainable solutions and therefore will never be kept after the last phase of work with families, related to employability.
Still regarding to Education, in December 2020 we created the Education Support Program, with a local partner, with which we intend to create a necessary bridge between the public school and the family/caregivers of children.
As for the work of volunteers regarding education, we intend that all support is directed to local teachers, in methodology and themes and not directly with children, so it can be continued and sustainable.
THF already helped to rehabilitate schools, invest in sports and arts so that it is accessible to all the needy children as well, established Partnerships for people or companies that voluntarily donated school supplies, water filters or other materials that are also extremely important for the proper functioning of this kind of spaces, but especially so that nothing was lacking for all the children who have in themselves the desire to learn.
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THF provides support and follows family farms and animal caring (cows, buffalo, chickens or ducks, all those that can be useful), which, in addition to guaranteeing food and sustenance, respects the will of families and the needs, culture and environment in which they live.
Naturally, it prioritizes fruit and vegetable cultivation that can enrich the food of families and even help them to transform these foods and sell them, such as Moringa, Sweet Potatoes, Maize, and others that are important locally.
In the last phase of our approach with each family, TEACH How to Fish helped to find solutions that would improve working conditions, in terms of remuneration and in the number of hours and days of work, or, in the case of unemployment, such as finding work solutions.
We think together about the solution, share wills, dreams, and desires, and then we discuss possible scenarios and actions together and define the path.
In Portugal, we are working in partnership with Associação Jovem Despertar and Associação Torre Amiga to create training and work solutions, both through employment and business creation and encouraging entrepreneurship.
In Cambodia, we have already managed to guarantee better working conditions for 2 people in the hotel industry. We created 3 businesses for 3 different families in order to ensure and increase the family income while allowing the family to stay together in the village and the parents do not need to abandon their children to seek better living conditions.
We created the bracelet business for Kosal's family, Moringa and Lotus tea business for Chaan's family, and the street food vending business for Channa's family.
THF does not profit from anything that is produced by any of the people it supports. When we buy something, we always do it at the price we have charged when we have an "order", so 100% goes to the one who produces.
No Children are involved or ever produce anything to sell, as we believe that this will be part of the child labor definition. Not even a painting or a bracelet!
THF has improved and built homes, as well as family toilets, not only to allow more security, privacy, health and hygiene conditions, but also to offer more dignity to children and their families.
Three houses have already been rebuilt and another five have been made from scratch. Twelve family toilets were also built. Humble but a source of joy for all of us and for families, who help at every step, with an average cost of $100 for the toilet and $600 for building a house (* Values for Cambodia in 2019).
Small bridges were built and access was improved as well as leisure spaces for the children.
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TEACH How to Fish occasionally collects donations of school supplies (backpacks, pens, etc.), clothes and shoes, as well as toys and sports or art supplies, preferably "second hand", provided they are in good condition.
In the Project, we believe that everyone has goods in their homes that they no longer need and are in excellent condition, so it is not necessary to buy most things.
As we don't have a storage solution in Portugal or a transport and reception solution outside the country, it's usually the volunteers who take off locally who take everything in their luggage.
In Portugal, whenever we collect necessary goods, we deliver them by hand or arrange solutions among the available volunteers.
