Starting now: our first after-school club
We’re opening a free after-school club on a small piece of coastal land in El Salvador. Here’s what it is, why we’re starting here, and what happens next.
Since 2023 we’ve tested two ideas. In Peru, we worked alongside a family-run children’s home and learned that the children’s biggest gap was education. In El Salvador, we costed a small resort whose income would pay for the children, and learned that a child’s care shouldn’t depend on a good tourist season.
So this time we’re starting small, and we’re not waiting for the perfect plan.
What we’re opening
A free after-school club, in Spanish, on land we already have. Children go to their normal school in the day. When it ends, the ones with nowhere safe to be come to us, and stay until a parent, grandparent or carer can collect them. While they’re with us they eat, play and learn.
Why after school
Most of the children we mean aren’t orphans. Their parents migrated, separated or couldn’t cope, and a grandparent or another relative took them in. They already have a home. What’s missing is everything around it: help with schoolwork, a meal they can count on, and a grown-up who notices when something is wrong.
What happens next
- Visit the land and the schools with our education lead.
- Make the site safe: clear the ground, secure the boundary, repair the toilets.
- Bring in three or four temporary classrooms.
- Find the local team, with safeguarding policy, checks and training first.
- Open the doors after school.
- Measure everything, then share it.
We’ll film every stage, mistakes included, and post it here. We’ll never show a child’s face without their family’s consent, and we never publish the exact location of any place where children are cared for.
If you can help, here’s exactly what we need.