The ÏDKIDS foundation supports Stepping Stones
As part of this partnership arrangement the Okaïdi team in Shanghai is helping to finance an English language programme.
Stepping Stones is a charity operating in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Its aim is to improve disadvantaged Chinese children’s access to healthcare and a high-quality education. To accomplish its goals it set up two key programmes: teaching English to the children of migrant workers and taking care of their essential eye care.
The ÏDKIDS corporate foundation sponsors the project and staff from Okaïdi China work as volunteers. In 2016 this support meant that ten regular volunteer teachers and eight substitute teachers could be trained. These teachers have given 162 English lessons in total.
This project meets the essential educational and learning needs of migrant children at Nanshu primary school, which receives no public funding.
Since October 2015, 16 staff from Okaïdi Shanghai have been volunteering for the teaching programme on a regular basis. They take turns to give a 90-minute English lesson each week to more than 780 children who attend the primary school. It is a generous commitment.
Learning English gives these children a much greater chance of going to secondary school. In China the English teacher has a direct influence on children’s academic success and ultimately their chance of finding a good job.
- Let’s hear what one Okaïdi team member had to say about her experience: “Being a volunteer teacher at Nanshu school was an incredible experience […] The children were lovely and seemed so happy to see us every week!”
