This statement is the basis that created Paradis d’Enfant.
Who is behind Paradis d’Enfant? What is its mission, objectives, goals? How does it achieve them? And most importantly, how can we, civil society, help?
The association:
Paradis d’Enfant is a non-profit, non-governmental association that was recognized by the Lebanese government in 2012. It was founded in 1997, on the initiative of “The Friends of the Public Schools,” and under the auspices of Georges Frem.
The target of this NGO is to ensure quality education for all, regardless of social background, economic status, and religious affiliation. And therefore to prove, through its established model, that public schools can and should aim to enhance their educational scope by developing a outlook that considers, along with the teaching curriculum, the characteristics of each individual child, its siblings, family, household and socio-economic context.
The rationale behind Paradis d’Enfant lies on the recognition of four major weaknesses in the Lebanese scholastic system: the high tuition of private schools is a burden for unprivileged families while the minimum wage is very low, the inadequate educational access for needy families, the unpreparedness of teenagers for higher education that leads to important dropout rates, and the absence of relevant civic education which therefore leads to youngsters that are unequipped to deal with their role as citizens.
The mission and objectives:
Paradis d’Enfant recognizes that the children of today are the leaders of tomorrow, and consequently has settled its mission with that objective.
It is the way we raise and educate every child that can make a change. Educating since early childhood lays the foundation upon which to build future academic, economic, social and personal wellbeing success. The efforts of this association are not limited to educational programs since they also work on the socio-economical context in which the children are raised.
