“Ban uni man pa cria nos muchanan” is a foundation whose goal it is to provide the needy children of Aruba with a breakfast every school day. A breakfast which consists of a sandwich and a drink (juice or milk). It is an independent foundation, receiving no subsidy whatsoever from the government.
The program started at the beginning of the 2001/2002 schoolyear as a community service project of the Facility Department of the Dr. Horacio E. Oduber Hospital, with 138 children. At the closing of the schoolyear 320 children were enrolled and this kept growing steadily each year. The 2019 schoolyear started with 650 children but as the schools reopened after the peak of the pandemic, the number of children grew to a staggering 794 children at the closing of the 2019-2020 schoolyear! These children are from 57 elementary schools all over the island. This number also includes about 70 children of the Traimerdia project, which is an after school program. For over 20 years the foundation has been providing breakfast to children of elementary schools but they are aiming on some day also be able to provide kindergartens and high schools, seeing that there are many children in need.
The breakfast program is a sponsorship program; although the sponsors are encouraged to donate Fls 25.00 per month, the actual cost per child has doubled. Leaning towards Fls. 50.00 per month. Simple arithmetic shows that the current 450 sponsors are not enough. At Fls 50.00 per month it takes 800 sponsors to keep the program running – or a combination of sponsors and donations.
Due to the effect of the pandemic and the increase in consumption prices the foundation is expecting a big deficit for the new school year of 2021-2022. If they don’t manage to get sufficient funds they will have to reduce the amount of children to 600, meaning that at least 200 children won’t be able to receive a breakfast this year and they would have to make the difficult decision in choosing who will stay on the list and who to remove. The foundation will keep working hard and do their utmost on getting these funds but they need the help of the community.
If you feel inspired by this article, do not just turn the page but act upon it. You can help and support this wonderful foundation by making a donation to their bank account at the following banks: CMB 22559501, RBC 43.65.011 and at the Aruba Bank 2516290190.
For more information, or to receive a transcript of the Chamber of Commerce, the By-Laws or the latest Financial Report (2020-2021) of the foundation, please contact Mrs. Rachelle Roos at +297-527-4000 or Mrs. Felicia Halman at +297- 527-4750 or Mr. John Fun (President) at +297-527-4711 or at +297-699-4330.
Your support will help the children of this program at least have a breakfast every day.
