I am a school-based mental health therapist here in Charlotte, and work with children who attend schools with high needs and high poverty rates. My family sponsors a 10 year-old girl student in Bayonnais. It is important to me as a therapist and as a sponsor, to understand what it takes to help support students to be most successful learners, both locally and abroad!
One theory that has helped me contemplate this complicated issue is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. I first came across this in graduate school, but became more familiar with his idea when I began to work in schools where children were struggling with learning and falling behind grade level. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs explains that as different needs are met, it increases their ability to be successful. Their most basic needs start at the bottom and work to the top. The lower tiers need to be completed before moving on to the next level. The theory goes that only when a student’s basic needs of safety, love/belonging and self esteem are met, can they truly focus on the task of learning.
So, how does Ewo help meet the students’ needs of Maslow’s Hierarchy?
It starts with biological and physical needs. Students at school in Bayonnais receive a school uniform and a hot lunch every day to meet these needs. Next comes the need for safety. Students have access to medical care at school if they need it. The need for love and belonging is met when students and sponsors exchange letters. The sponsors express love, support, prayers and encouragement to their student and this is so important! Favorites we like to include in our letters “We believe in you!” “We love you!” “We pray for you every day”
Student sponsorship can fulfill students needs so they can be prepared and receptive to learning. This equals greater success in life! This is why the work we do is so important to the young people of Bayonnais.
- Meet the Board:Jodi MacIsaac - July 29, 2021
- How Sponsoring a Student Helps Meet Their Most Basic Needs - June 8, 2021
