It comes as no surprise that too many children throughout the Middle East face more than their fair share of challenges on a daily basis. Consequently, Kitegang is currently exploring how best we can fulfill our mandate of fun, and in turn, help remind these kids that they're not necessarily supposed to grow up so fast. Toward this end, Kitegang is pursuing ways to help marginalized kids in the Middle East to rebuild their optimism and self-esteem with a bit of inspiration, while simultaneously encouraging requisite life skills through educational and job-training programming that will help justify their increasing aspirations.
Current efforts involve partnering with Jumpstart International, an American NGO, as well as the Government of Jordan, and building a kite program from the ground up for the region at-large. And while kites have more of an established presence here than in other areas where we work, we're optimistic that further markets can still be developed to justify basing programming around the local manufacturing of kites. Such a project holds promise to support both refugee communities, as well as at-risk families in host-countries -- ideally a mix of the two. Beyond that, we eagerly await the day when we can help share locally-made kites with children throughout the Middle East, no matter where they'll be flown.
