KLM AirCares Quarterly Projects
October – December 2008: Wings of Support Project: Faya Lobi Kresj
The Wings of Support project in Surinam: Faya Lobi Kresj was established in Paramaribo in 1983. The crèche offers day-care facilities for around 50 children up to the age of eight, including babies. Most of these children come from single-parent families and grow up in socially impoverished circumstances. The devoted leaders at the Faya Lobi Kresj do everything possible to provide a loving environment.
Since its construction in 1983, no maintenance has been carried out on the premises. After 25 years of intensive use, the crèche is sorely in need of repairs. The roof needs to be repaired, the inside and outside walls need repairing and a new coat of paint, an outside fence must be erected so that the children can play in a safe and protected area, and the furniture is up for replacement. Wings of Support believes that it is important to provide these children with a clean, safe and livable environment. The renovations are set to commence before the end of the year.
The Wings of Support initiative was launched by employees at KLM and Martinair. The organization consists of 80 volunteers, who help needy children at KLM and Martinair destinations worldwide. Wings of Support aims to improve the quality of the lives of children in their own learning environment.
Wings of Support was established 10 years ago. This provided reason enough for KLM to select a Wings of Support project as the AirCares charity for the last quarter of 2008.
Visit www.wingsofsupport.org for more information about Wings of Support.
July-September 2008: Lornah Kiplagat: Runner with a heart
Lornah Kiplagat proves that it is possible to integrate professional sports with social awareness. The Dutch athlete with Kenyan roots, who won the four world titles and holds various world records, is the founder of a running camp. The High Altitude Training Centre (HATC) in Iten, gives young talented Kenyan female runners the opportunity to leave poverty behind and build a career in professional sports. But the involvement did not stop at the gate of the HATC. Lornah Kiplagat will impetus to her socially oriented activities and seek out new missions for non-athletes. The goal is to build a secondary school in 2010 totalling 250 girls, who will get education during four years. To succeed Lornah Kiplagat founded the Lornah Kiplagat Foundation.
April-June 2008: SOS Kinderdorpen
SOS Kinderdorpen provides homes in which orphans and street children can live. To this end, they bring these children to villages built specially for this purpose. In the safety of a family home which can hold between eight and ten children, they receive care from an "SOS mother" who gives them loving care. Each village offers between ten and fifteen houses, a school, medical and social centers, and a close-knit community where children and adults from the local area are also welcome. If the children have the opportunity to live with blood relatives, SOS Kinderdorpen stimulates that with programs designed to strengthen the family setting. In this way, they help prevent families from falling apart and children ending up back out on the street.
January-March 2008: Doctor 2 Doctor
This quarter was devoted entirely to Doctor 2 Doctor.