The Story of Gift a Dream Foundation

My name is Ayda Sabri and I am the founder of the Australian based registered charity Gift a Dream (GAD) Foundation.

I migrated to Australia in 1972, a country where my daughter and I have always had access to clean water, a home and food.

As a mother I never worried about period pads, my daughter never felt shame for having her period or worry about experiencing leakage to skip school.

As a mother I can not imagine a world where my daughter would have to feel such shame and embarrassment.

More of a shock was girls being forced to get married at a very young age, and then at the tender age of 13 years old and then having to have babies.

This was my experience in travelling to India and Kenya. I started to understand the impact of poverty on children and especially on girls.

Returning home to Australia I felt like it was my responsibility to do something about it as a citizen of the world.

As a Cypriot single mother and working full time did not stop me from sharing the story with everyone I came across and asking them to help me.

Ten years later my journey and work continues. My team and I are dedicated and committed to delivering empowering community welfare programs in the south of India and Kenya.

My mission is to create a world where all children have access to education and are not robbed of their innocence or childhood.

Universal access to quality education is not a privilege – it is a basic human right. Every child deserves to be protected and feel safe.

What are the 3 problems we are finding solutions for?

1. Girls unable to go to school because they do not have access to Period Pads.

Over half of the world experiences menstruation, yet girls still face extraordinary barriers simply because of their periods.

Unable to afford or access proper menstrual products there are girls around the world who frequently face embarrassing leaks, shame and stigma around periods. The impact is that millions of girls experience their monthly period as something that prevents them from going to school.

The unavilability of sanitary products in developing countries like India and Kenya is a major barrier to education for girls.

1 in 10 15-year-old Kenyan girls have sex to get money to pay for sanitary pads, according to one study

Girls having their period is an ongoing barrier to go to school.

Girls not able to effectively manage yheir menstruation contributes to absences of up to 4-5 school days each month.

2. Girls unable to go to school because of child marriage and child labour

Millions of girls in poverty are kept out of school, forced to work, stay at home to help with the domestics and also because of cultural norms are made to get married and bear children at a very young age.

According to UNESCO it is estimated, 130 million girls between the age of 6 and 17 are out of school (15 million of these girls are of primary-school age) and for them equality remains elusive.

This is happening every minute around the world right now!

And each year worldwide12 million girls are married before the age of 18, 23 girls every minute.

3. Stigma of children with disability

Thousands of disabled children in Kenya are abandoned by their parents due to poverty and stigma. They are being neglected and uncared for across the east African country according to a study by "Disability Rights International" (DRI).

According to government statistics, around 3.5% of Kenya’s 40 million people have a disability, but campaigners estimate the true figure is closer to 10 percent.

Video: © Mary Rice Centre

The problem in Kenya

Kibera Slums in Kenya

Kibera is the largest slum in Africa. There are approximatly 2.5 million slum dwellers. The average size of shacks in this area is 12ft x 12ft built with mud walls, a corrugated tin roof with a dirt or concrete floor. It is divided by a filthy, plastic-choked river that brings in pollution from Nairobi’s industries.

Life is hard and health is poor.

Drug and alcohol abuse fuels the gender violence, child abuse and rape. Slums, where a billion of the world’s population currently live, offer little security for women and children.

child-in-dirty-conditions-kibera-slum Photo by Barry

The problem in India

Millions of children around the world are trapped in child labour, depriving them of their childhood, their health and education, and condemning them to a life of poverty.

Worldwide, 218 million children between 5 and 17 years are in employment. Among them, 152 million are victims of child labour; almost half of them, (73 million) work in hazardous child labour.

Here’s what we’re doing about it

In our experience over the past 10 years with working in developing countries we are seeing results because of our Empowernment approach and programs.

Our Empowerment Approach:

1. Menstruation Kits - Many girls skip school during menstruation or drop out entirely. This increases the chance of child marriage and teenage pregnancy.

Our Empowernment Approach is to provide girls with AFRIPads Menstrual Kits. AFRIpads are reusable sanitary pads, cost-effective and a feminine hygiene solution enabling girls to go to school.

AFRI pads provide protection and is very empowering for the girls who use them.

Ensuring girls stay in the classroom is crucial in the fight to eradicate global child labour and child marriage.

2. Education - We are dedicated to providing the disadvantaged with opportunities to access quality education. Every child, every girl deserves the right to an education and to reach their potential.

Our Empowernment Approach is to provide sponsorship and skills development.

Educated girls, skilled adolesence have a greater chance of escaping poverty, leading healthier and more productive lives.

3. Empowernment - The Power of Youth Leadership. Our programs teach and help the youth to develop independent thinking, confidence, self- esteem, decision making and life skills.

Our programs Empower the youth to have Self Leadership and lead their life in a positive and healthy way.

Our results so far....

We strongly believe education is a critical part of the solution. As a result of our continued commitment and funding to make a difference, here are our results - (as at January 2020):-

Location - India
---------------------------------------------------------

66 girls have completed 10th standard studies (16 years old)

3 boys have completed 10th Standard studies (16 years old)

41 girls have completed secondary school (18 years old)

2 boys have completed secondary school (18 years old)

12 girls have graduated with a Diploma or Degree

1 boy has graduated Degree and currently doing his internship

32 girls are working and supporting their families financially

We support a community study centre for girls in poor areas of Bangalore where children receive tutoring, mentoring, counselling and one snack-meal a day with help from local volunteers, vetted by our foundation personally.
We facilitate and run "Youth Leadership Programs" to equip and empower the girls with life skills to be able to adapt to their continuing changing enviroment and to be able to make decisions to help them with their future.

Gift A Dream Foundation funds a ‘Language and Literacy’ class for young children in a slum area of Bangalore with help from local volunteers and teachers, vetted by our foundation personally.

Currently we sponsor -

12 students studying at Secondary School
6 students studying at Pre-University College
4 students studying their Diploma course
7 students studying for their Degrees at University
1 student studying for her masters in Finance

Our Mission is:

"Change one child's life, change a families life"

Gift A Dream Foundation is committed to continue making the difference with your help.

Location - Kenya

Mary Rice Centre

We support the children with mental and physical disabilities at the Mary Rice Centre. The centre provides support through basic learning skills, prevocational and vocational skills, therapy services and outreach program. Children are also receive skill training such bead work and gardening, skills to help them generate income when they become young adults.

The aim is to enhance the dignity of excluded and marginalized persons with disability. We believe in empowering the children therefore:

"It's not a disability, it's a different ability"

The Mary Rice Centre currently has 36 girls and 35 boys (71 children) at the centre:-

In 2019 we sponsored the:

Purchase of school shoes for 71 children at the centre
Making of 71 sweaters for the children
Making of 71 sports uniforms for the children

Making a Difference (MAD) Sisters

MAD Sisters is a community based organization and their aim is to reduce the vulnerabilities that adolescents' girls face in the slums of Kibera (the biggest slums in the world) by promoting an environment that is safe for them to live in and grow.

The following are provided for 40 girls:

A safe ppace where the girls and the young women are free to express themselves.
Menstrual Hygiene Packs. AFRIpads School Kits
Menstrual Hygien Training
Youth Leadership Programs
- To encourage the girls to become change agents in the community by becoming peer educators who promote the safety and well being of girls in the community
- To train girls to be vocal in addressing issues affecting them and addressing them.

How can you help?

Here’s some amazing perks for supporting us that you can’t live without - Look across to the side of this page there is something there for YOU!

GAD Foundation is working towards raising $15,000.

Help us to continue supporting and funding our projects in:

India

You can support the girls in India by:

Sponsoring their education
Making a donation for the purchase of school packs
Making a donation for a girl to attend leadership programs

AND .....

Kenya

"Our Caring Hearts Build Hope"

The girls of the Mary Rice Centre can be supported in a number of ways including:

Sponsor a child making the transition to mainstream schooling or a vocational programme.
Medical and learning provisions for the children with mental and physical disability.
Volunteering time and expertise – for example physiotherapists, occupational therapists, special learning needs teachers, teachers and vocational trainers.

The girls of MAD Sisters can be supported in a number of ways including:

Donations for:

AFRIpads School Kits - AFRIpads are reusable sanitary pads, cost-effective and a feminine hygiene solution enabling girls to go to school.

AFRI pads provides protection and is very empowering for the girls who use them.
Menstrual Hygien Management Training (MHMT) - MHMT is to ensure that women and girls can manage their periods in a way that is not only healthy, but that enables their full participation in school and other activities.
Youth Leadership Empowernment Programs - Our programs teach and help the youth to develop independent thinking, confidence, self- esteem, decision making and life skills. The program empowers the girls to be Self Leaders of their life.

By making a donation, you become a part of Gift A Dream Foundation’s year-long efforts in encouraging, enabling and sustaining positive change at an individual level. We thank you for taking the time to read through this and encourage you to look up GAD foundation’s impact stories on Facebook and Instagram.

Please make a donation

"It is in joining hands and hearts we make a difference"

Ayda Sabri

Social Media Links

https://www.facebook.com/GiftADreamFoundation/

https://www.instagram.com/giftadream.org.au/

Our Partners

Search results: