CRO Foundation
An independent future for street children in Uganda
Everyone has the right to a dignified, fulfilling, and independent life. Every child has the right to education, care, playtime, and happy childhood. We collaborate with our Ugandan partner organisation, Child Restoration Outreach, to make these rights a reality for children who live on the street. This serves our common goal to provide these children with an independent future.
Projects
CRO Bakery
In 2015 CRO Bakery has opened with the goal to bring in revenue for CRO location Lira. Most income is generated with the sale of cakes, which finances school fees and emergencies. This creates a higher degree of independence for CRO Lira. Since 2016 it has financed the fees for 20 pupils annually.
Donations towards the bakery are utilised to further develop the bakery.
RESTORE Project
In 2019 zijn we gestart met het RESTORE Project bij CRO Lira. Door dit project krijgen kinderen vanaf 16 jaar een vakopleiding. Naast de gewone lessen is het de bedoeling dat de kinderen stage gaan lopen. Aan het einde van de opleiding krijgen ze de materialen die ze nodig hebben om zelf geld te verdienen. Geld wat hieraan gedoneerd wordt, wordt gebruikt voor het opstarten van nieuwe opleidingen. Op dit moment hebben we een opleiding tot coupeuse, en willen we uitbreiden naar een kappersopleiding en eventuele andere opleidingen.
School fund
80% of all donations to our School Fund go directly towards school fees for street children in primary or secondary education. These children are already connected to CRO Uganda, and most of them live in Lira and surroundings. CRO Uganda decides which children will receive support for school fees. Parents and other family members will have to provide uniforms and school materials. The other 20% of the donations is spent on CRO Bakery or other Income Generating Activities.
Ugandan partner
Child Restoration Outreach Uganda
Child Restoration Outreach Uganda (CRO Uganda) is a Ugandan non-governmental organisation that supports street children and their families and care givers. In 1992 CRO Uganda was established in Mbale and successfully extended to location Jinja (1998), Masaka (2002) and Lira (2007).
Living on the street is a daily struggle to survive, especially for children. It's a world of violence, drugs, illness, hunger and child labour, filled with physical and emotional abuse. CRO Uganda is a safe place where these children can relax, get nutritious food and receive medical and psychological aid, in addition to being raised and educated. CRO Uganda is not an orphanage. Instead, the organisation works to reunite children with their family, as its central belief is that a child’s place is with their family.
The goal of CRO Uganda is to contribute to prevention, rehabilitation, education and family reunion. CRO Uganda also supports families by organising self-help groups and community workshops with the objective to make these families independent.
Right now, the CRO Foundation mainly focusses on projects at CRO Lira. We've had personal relationships with the people working at CRO Lira since 2014, which makes collaborating that much easier. The other branches have been getting support from other organisations, mostly because they have existed longer than CRO Lira. We hope to expand our work to all branches of CRO.
Mission
Education
Every child has the right to education, but unfortunately this isn't a reality for all. We work to grant schooling for as many Ugandan children as possible. We hope to increase the possibilities for these children to have a dignified, happy and independent life by investing in primary and secondary education and vocational degrees, paying special attention to educational sustainability.
Independence
We want every child to have an independent future. For us that means a life in which he or she has many chances, can make their own choices, and in which they have the liberty to live their life according to their own priorities. Furthermore, it's our mission to help our local partner organisations become independent. We do this by investing in projects that become self-sustaining.
Cooperation
We work towards our goals through close cooperation with our local partner Child Restoration Outreach Uganda. CRO Uganda has a wealth of knowledge and experience on rehabilitating street children. As they are the experts, we strive to cooperate with them on a basis that is equal.
How you can help
As an individual
Great you want to support us! As a volunteer of the CRO Foundation there are a number of possibilities. Firstly, you can help raise funds for our projects, for instance by setting up a campaign and raise money for the CRO Foundation itself or a specific project. We'd have to ask you to only use our name and logo with our permission. Please get in touch for guidance and flyers. You are also most welcome to volunteer in Uganda if you are eligible. We only support volunteers who have the right experience and who can make valuable contributions. The work you would do needs to be sustainable: you are contributing knowledge. Please get in touch if you would like to learn more.
As a school
Nice to hear that your school is interested in Child Restoration Outreach and the CRO Foundation! For schools we offer a specially designed educational module on citizenship about street children in Uganda (in Dutch). This module can be used in primary and secondary education and aligns with the domains on citizenship education in the Dutch educational system. Whilst the module is free of charge, obtaining it comes with the commitment to organise a fundraising event, such as a sponsored run or Christmas fair. Please contact us for more information. Would you like us to give a talk about Child Restoration Outreach, the CRO Foundation, street children or education in Uganda at your Dutch school? We would love to! Our Foundation has lots of expertise in the domains of education and citizenship, both in primary and secondary education.
As a company
Thank you for your interest Child Restoration Outreach and the CRO Foundation! Modern companies do not only do business in a societally responsible way, but also critically acclaim the good causes they make donations towards. Sustainability and good collaboration are important in this. The CRO Foundation aims to provide Ugandan street children with a dignified, happy, and independent future. We do so by collaborating with a local NGO: CRO Uganda. This organisation has lots of knowledge and years of experience on how to help these children in the best possible ways. As we are regularly present in Uganda, we guarantee your money is spent well.
Method
Local knowledge and experience
Whereas many charities work towards their goals in their own way, we believe in the power of local knowledge and experience. Indeed, local people know the languages, habits, cultures and laws. That’s why they are in a much better position to make the best use of the funds.
The CRO Foundation therefore aims to raise funds to financially support CRO Uganda. How funds are spent is decided in close collaboration and agreement but is initiated by CRO Uganda. This construction does not only ensure that money is spent on more appropriate and well-embedded ways, but also that those who carry out the projects are heavily involved, which significantly increases success rates.
Of course we retain awareness of and pay close attention to the spending of the funds, and provide CRO Uganda with advice where appropriate. On a regular basis we are present in Uganda to help out and keep track of how the proceeds of the CRO Foundation fundraising efforts are spent.
Click here to learn about CRO Uganda.
Sustainable investments
Most Dutch people would associate supporting children in Africa with paying school fees. However, this creates an unstable dependency relation. School fees are paid annually, and donating people cannot always foresee if they can commit to multiple years of paying for these fees. We want to avoid these dependencies and uncertainties by committing to sustainable investments in local projects that bring in money and become self-sustaining.
CRO Bakery is a good example. Our investments in this bakery allows it to not only pay for annual school fees, but also equips CRO Uganda with emergency funds. The bakery is also used to teach pupils skills such as collaboration, cooperation and taking responsibility. Cake orders for one wedding tend to already raise enough funds to pay the annual school fees for two pupils. This gives CRO Uganda much needed control over, and independence from, unstable donations from abroad.
The CRO Foundation thus strives to make more sustainable investments like these, specifically aimed at projects that bring in money locally to spend on education and projects that are self-sustaining, like the RESTORE Project.
Who are we?
Laura Beljaars
Chair person
My name is Laura Beljaars. I'm the chair of the CRO Foundation. In the summer of 2013 I arrived at CRO for the first time and I fell in love immediately. After finishing my bachelor's of education, I went to live in Lira for 8 months, doing volunteer work for CRO. This changed to a more permanent role when we opened CRO Bakery and I decided to go back to school to get my master's in Development Education & Global Learning at UCL. It's important to me that the CRO Foundation and CRO Uganda work together. And that we start projects that can make both the children and CRO Uganda independent. CRO Bakery is a good example of this, I hope more will follow.
Sabina Kloppers
Treasurer
My name is Sabina Kloppers and I live in Utrecht. I've been involved as board member since the start of the CRO Foundation in November 2019. In my daily life I work as lawyer, specialised in IT law. In my free time, I like to work-out, see my friends and travel. Through my effort for the foundation, I want to help create a positive impact in society and help children to build an independent and happy life.
Suzanne van Burik
Secretary
My name is Suzanne van Burik. In my daily life I'm the head teacher of a primary school. I've been part of the CRO Foundation since the start. Because of my job, I truly understand the importance of education and how not every child gets the same chances in this world. I believe that every child should have a quality education, as knowledge is the source of development. Through working with a local organisation in Uganda, we can create projects, raise local funds and send more children to school. At the same time, these projects can be used as internships, which helps educate and raise funds at the same time. I love being a part of this organisation and through that adding to the development of children in Uganda.
Hans van Mierlo
Board member
My name is Hans van Mierlo, board member of the CRO Foundation. After more than forty years as a teacher, I am very aware of the importance of education and its impact on making life a success. Us as rich westerners have excess to quality education. However, there are places in this world where this is not the case. That is why I think it's important to help: not by telling how others should work, but to support them in their own endeavours to create a better society. This is what the foundation does: we support where needed and work together with Ugandan people, who are the best judges of where support is needed, with the ultimate goal to make ourselves redundant. This is why I support projects which create educational opportunities for youth and projects which make them independent. This shows trust and commitment. Together, we'll get there.
Koen van Holten
Board member
In the spring of 2021, I became a board member of the CRO Foundation. The stories told by Laura and Sabina drew me in, as well as organising a fund raiser at my work. In their stories, they stressed the importance of quality education and a future for everyone. This made me think about my own education at primary school 't Smelleken in Valkenswaard. Their motto is: "the best start for life long learning". I'm blessed to have had this start, because, by luck, I was born in Valkenswaard and not in Lira, Uganda. During my time at primary school, we had a 'pen friend' in Suriname. Exchanging letters with him made it clear to me that we were all children, but there was also a big difference between the ways we lived. Until recently, I've been a sponsor and interested party when it comes to the CRO Foundation. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused education all over the world to slow down even more. This is why I decided to join in the board. I hope that our story affects you like it did me. With your support we can give children on the street the best start, at school.
Opening
Board member
We are looking for a general board member! If interested, please email info@crofoundation.nl
The board is supported by a number of enthusiastic volunteers, including:
Partners
The CRO Foundation activities are supported by many individuals and a number of organisations, including:
F.A.Q.
Why are there so many street children?
Because of poverty many parents are not able to pay the school fees of their children. That's why children have to work and live on the streets. Also, domestic violence, substance abuse and parental loss can play a major role. In most cases this is underpinned by poverty.
How did you choose CRO Uganda?
Back in 2013 Laura joined Edukans on their ‘Educational Expedition' program in Uganda. The trip involved organising a game day at CRO Lira. Deeply impressed by this organisation she has returned there to keep supporting it ever since.
Why didn't you start your own organisation in Uganda?
We believe in the power of the people ‘on the ground'. CRO Uganda has been around since 1992 and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. Who are we to claim we can do better? These local people know what is going on, what is necessary and how to achieve goals best. We want to support them to the best of our ability.
Do you sell goods in the Netherlands?
Sometimes we do, but not always. Sometimes we take Ugandan products, like bags, hairbands, dresses and skirts back to the Netherlands. We sell them via Facebook. Would you to like to order something? Send us your request via info@crofoundation.nl and we'll help organise it for you. We cannot guarantee this unfortunately.
How can I raise funds?
Great you want to raise funds for us! You can do so in many ways, for instance by running a half marathon, knitting toys, organising a concert or dinner for your family and friends and, or setting up another kind of donation action via Facebook. Please do let us know about your plans to raise funds for us to receive permission to use our name and leaflets. We recommend using Facebook, as this platform notifies us and it is one of the most trustworthy methods.
What are your bank details?
Name: Stichting CRO Foundation
IBAN: NL67 ABNA 0876 9921 65
BIC: ABNANL2A
Contact
