We build and run eco-friendly children's villages with education, health, social and sporting facilities for children in developing countries. In doing so, fws aims to enhance the current and future lives of these children so that they are better able to contribute to their community and enjoy their lives.

We do this by providing:

• nourishing meals to orphans

• access to water for orphans and their wider community

• a safe shelter for orphans

• access to health facilities (including HIV-AIDS care) for orphans

• after-school social and educational programs that teach life skills to orphans

• weekend classes covering environmental and health issues for the wider community

• all of the above with minimal impact on the local environment (we endeavour to meet Green Globe's eco-friendly standards on waste minimization, energy efficiency, water conservation and biodiversity conservation).

Why we do it

Well…it’s like this: those involved with fws believe that while a person is on earth, they either get a dodge deal or a great deal. If you get a great deal, then it only seems fair that you help those who got the dodge deal.

When you’ve had the privilege of living and volunteering in a developing country, as each of us at fws have, you soon see how the smallest amount to us, in the western world (a night out, a new top, a movie), can make a drastic difference to someone in a developing country (food for a month, school fees, life-saving medicine).

Often those that need help don’t have the voice to ask for it and those who would love to give, don’t realise how valuable what they offer is, nor how easy it is to make a tangible difference.

You also observe how aid can be misdirected or mismanaged and how it can sometimes create dependencies and perpetuate the very need it aims to address.

It’s for these reasons that fws aims to create projects that are locally managed, eco-friendly and that leave the locals with improved living and vocation skills.

By using our creativity and forethought from the outset, we plan to impart knowledge and skills in a way that ensures we are needed less as each project develops. This not only allows us to concentrate our services where they are most required, when they are most required, but also ensures we leave the locals a legacy – and that’s what we’re all about.