Engaged parents make all the difference. When moms and dads invest in their kids’ education, children are equipped for success on all sides. That’s why Wellspring focuses on helping parents—many of whom have not been educated themselves—to understand and live out their unique role in their child’s learning. 

Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) empowers people to help themselves. Instead of focusing on what is lacking, this approach emphasizes the community’s assets and strengths. Once assets are identified, they can be connected to areas of need and mobilized. This results in empowered citizens creating their own solutions, leading to a new sense of dignity and worth for all.

In the context of education, ABCD helps school communities achieve sustainability. When parents are invested in their children’s education, they use their own assets to continuously improve the school based on its current needs, enabling change to come from within the community rather than from outside. That’s why Wellspring trains and supports parents through workshops focused on: 

Through Wellspring’s training, parents have mobilized and started a number of initiatives, including the following:

• Installed hand-washing stations to improve school hygiene
• Planted a bean garden to provide a balanced diet for the school feeding program
• Created saving initiatives to teach students the value of money
• Donated to raise school fees for less-advantaged students
• Built new classroom blocks to deal with overcrowding
• Contributed to the purchase of water tanks and filtration systems to provide access to clean water at schools
• Sensitized other parents in the community to the importance of education, resulting in the return of children who had previously dropped out of school to help their families

A healthy school that provides a strong education is at the centre of any vibrant community, and parental involvement is key in making this happen. Read more about the role of parents in their local schools below: