Project goals

1. Improving living conditions

Facilities are in order
Since the start of our project The Golden House in 2008, we have made a lot of improvements to the living conditions of the children. Our 400 children and 20 staff members now all live in good conditions. There is ample space for eating, sleeping, studying and recreation. The facilities in the three buildings are in order.

Annual investment
Items such as healthy food, clothing, slippers, sleeping gear, toiletries, school uniforms and school supplies require an annual investment from our foundation. The money we need for this is largely raised by our private donors and child sponsor. Of course, the money is spent on the basic facilities of the entire residential group. We don't want to make a distinction here.

2. Investing in staff and teachers

With the support of two project partners, we have been able to invest for several years in staff training and attract our own teachers for our graduation students.

Staff training
The residential groups The Golden House and The Hostel are led by three senior staff members. Click here to get to know them better. They are assisted by a large group of junior staff members. Together they provide the necessary structure and regularity. The staff members supervise the children and young people, cook for them and help them with their studies. Without them our project would not function.

The senior staff members have received training in the areas of leadership, ownership, communication with adolescents, children's rights, empowerment and administration in recent years. They continue to develop.

The young people from our residential groups who have passed their final exams are often asked to work within one of the many programs and projects at the school. They have the right attitude and are socially skilled. We train young people who choose to become a junior staff member at The Golden House or The Hostel in the aforementioned themes. In addition, they participate in our English & Life Skill Program (Bridging). In this way we create involvement and ownership.

If the young adults find a good job in or out of school, or if they get into a relationship, they will of course leave our living groups. You could call that a pity about the investment, but that is precisely what our aim is: to lead these young people to an independent existence. That is why investing in staff is a continuous process.

Own teachers
Monastic schools cannot offer their teachers the salary they can get in government schools. To prevent the qualified teachers at the PDO High School from resigning and to ensure that more graduates pass their exams, we have been paying the salaries of a number of teachers since 2018. This has led to a higher success rate and to more structure and regularity in the study of the young people.

3. Maintaining and renewing the housing

Painting the buildings
Our residential buildings are used intensively. Every three years we paint the buildings inside and out.

Maintenance
Fans, lighting, switches, cabling, plumbing, taps, kitchen equipment, furniture, equipment, all these things are subject to maintenance. The maintenance jobs are put on paper twice a year when our secretary Nico Schoenmakers visits the project.

Rebuild kitchen
We would like to rebuild the kitchen, which is located between the two residential buildings of The Golden House. This kitchen dates from the time when we looked after 200 instead of 400 children. We also want to realize a scullery and small office in the new building. We are busy recruiting sponsors so that we can perhaps realize the plan in 2024.