AMERICAN IDOL GIVES BACK to Mozambique...

As July 4th festivities and summer vacations begin in the United States, thousands of children, ages 3 to 5, are starting preschool in Mozambique, thanks to American Idol viewers. The global humanitarian organization Save the Children announced today that 96 preschools in 42 communities from donations raised through Idol Gives Back 2007, opened in May and June. Many of the children attending the preschools have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS.

Save the Children is grateful to American Idol fans who gave generously when asked to help children in need during the televised Idol Gives Back charity event," said Save the Children’s Mozambique Country Director John Grabowski. 

"With their support, children living in some of the poorest villages in remote areas of Mozambique are now learning their alphabet and numbers, and getting an early start on school."

Donations raised through Idol Gives Back are helping to fund teacher training; the purchase of school materials like floor mats, blackboards and pencils; and construction materials. Local community members in each village, including several skilled carpenters, volunteered their time to build classrooms. Other community members are donating their time to teach at the schools.

"Many children drop out in first grade because they are not prepared for school," said Damião Mungoi, education program coordinator for Save the Children in Mozambique. "These children live in rural and remote villages where they speak dozens of local languages. When entering first grade, they are overwhelmed and confused because they don't know Portuguese, the national language used in schools. 

But now, by attending preschool, these children will learn basic Portuguese and will be ready for first grade."

The preschools also are offering a safe place for children to play and learn, especially children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS. Mozambique is home to some 370,000 children who have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS, according to UNAIDS. Children orphaned at a young age are frequently discriminated against and lack the same care and support of their older siblings. Preschools offer support to caregivers, many of whom are grandparents, and help reduce discrimination by including all children from the community in the classroom.

Save the Children received $13.5 million in donations from Idol Gives Back in 2007, 

and an additional $1 million from Allstate Insurance Company to improve the lives of children in need in the United States and Africa. Donations to Africa have supported health and education programs in six countries, Ethiopia, Guinea, Mali, Mozambique, South Sudan and Uganda.

Save the Children began working in Mozambique in 1988 with an innovative pilot program to help rehabilitate child soldiers. The program continued for seven years, well after the country's civil war ended in 1992. Today, the global humanitarian organization implements programs focused on education, emergency response, food security, health and HIV/AIDS in several provinces of Mozambique.