International Child Welfare Service (ICWS)
a humanitarian organization helping vulnerable children to get an education.
International Child Welfare Service (ICWS) is an independent Danish humanitarian organization engaged in providing support to poor, handicapped, ill and orphaned children. The organization was founded in 1974 and its support presently benefits almost 2,300 school children in some of the poorest countries of the world. The children – many of whom are boarders at their school – receive an education in a healthy and secure environment.
Low administration costs
ICWS is managed by volunteers and the low administration costs (3.6 % in 2016) are in general covered by special contributions, f. inst. from Dansk Tipstjeneste. This means that the sponsorship contributions entirely benefit the children.
We believe in education
ICWS supports 21 school projects in regions, where children due to war, illness or poverty need help to get an education. The children are either orphaned or are from very poor families. They may have been abandoned by their families, f. inst. because they are handicapped. ICWS supports school projects because we believe in education as a prerequisite for a sustainable development out of poverty and in order for children to become responsible members of the local community.
ICWS focuses on primary school attendance, but some children will also be offered support to post-primary education, either from their sponsor in Denmark or from ICWS´s own Education Fund.
Our Values
Trust and openness
It is crucial for ICWS that its members, partners and other stakeholders have trust in what we are doing. Consequently, we strive for a high level of transparency.
Accountability
ICWS has procedures which ensure that the sponsorship funds as well as contributions towards specific investments, etc. are used for the purpose for which they were granted.
Solidarity
The objective of ICWS is to help vulnerable children who live under less favorable conditions than children in f. inst. Denmark.
Voluntarism
ICWS is driven by volunteers who are not being paid for their work.
What is driving us – aim and vision
The aim of ICWS is to help some of the poorest and most vulnerable children of the world to get a good childhood and a foundation for a better future – both for humanitarian reasons and because a positive development of society so strongly depends on the education of the new generations.
The vision of ICWS is that children in the poorest countries get an opportunity for a good education in a secure environment.
ICWS requirements to the schools
ICWS enters into an Agreement of Cooperation with each of the schools being supported. The agreement describes the requirements/ambitions regarding the well-being, clothing, food, health, education, etc. For each school there is a person in Denmark, who holds responsibility for the project and who visits the school at least every second year. Such visits are undertaken in order to check that the agreed activities are carried out satisfactorily, and that the money which has been provided is used as intended. Members of ICWS may contact the project responsible person anytime to obtain answers to queries.
ICWS projects are situated in Bulgaria, Uganda, India, Cambodia and Sri Lanka