Nonprofit

The Supply Education Group

Long Island City, NY | thesupply.org/

About Us

Mission Statement

The Supply builds secondary schools for slum children and empowers them to ignite transformation within their slums.

The Slum Issue

UNESCO reports that over 2 billion people in the world live in slums and that number is expected to double by 2030. That means every day, approximately 250,000 children are born into slums. That’s 250,000 more children each day who are denied access to basic human rights such as health and clean water.

The United Nations Millennium Development Goal 7 Target 11 states: “by 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers.” Unfortunately, as we near this hallmark year, conditions have only worsened. The reality is that because of exploitation by local slumlords and neglect from state governments, slum dwellers are left without a voice. Living conditions in slums are often sub-human as the denial of government services lead to children playing in gutters of human feces, houses mounted on heaps of trash, and cesspools that serve as incubators for infectious diseases.

Education: The Long Term Solution

Yet, there is a glimmer of hope that radiates from the classrooms of the community schools in these slums. Because of the absence of government schools, community schools have sprouted up, providing access to quality education for slum children. The demand for education in slums is high as families understand the importance of education for the future of not only their children but also the future of their depressed community. The stories abound of parents foregoing large percentages of their monthly income [school fees often account for 50% of monthly income] to send their children to school. Further, orphan children, who are forced to work, often give up lunch each day just to afford the school fees each term.

Our Work

The Supply is a non-profit organization that is committed to defending these families and children. The world may have shunned them, but we haven’t. We believe in education. But more importantly, we believe in the children.

The Supply works together with the families, community leaders, and children of urban slums to not only ensure that the children have an opportunity to go to secondary school but also to create the next generation of educated and civically engaged slum citizens. We do this by constructing community secondary schools and implementing our S.L.U.M.S (Student Leaders Understanding My Slums) experiential learning program.

Mission Statement

The Supply builds secondary schools for slum children and empowers them to ignite transformation within their slums.

The Slum Issue

UNESCO reports that over 2 billion people in the world live in slums and that number is…

Issue Areas Include

Location

  • 45-50 30th Street, Long Island City, NY 11101, United States
Illustration

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