MARGINALISED CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Supporting children from Greenland at danish boarding schools

Every year, about a third of a year group of young people from Greenland go to continuation schools in Denmark, but far too many end up going home before the end of their year at school.

“Since 2016 Allu has helped to reduce the number who drop out, supporting pupils so that they complete their stay at school. Later on in life, it is important for the young people to be able to look back on a successful period at school. We are very pleased, therefore, that the Vissing Foundation is supporting our work with young people,” says Nathasja Preus, leader of the project with children from Greenland.

Grønlands Børn, an association working for Greenlandic children, organises Allu as a nationwide project run by volunteers. In the course of four weekends and a five-day language camp, the young pupils are prepared for life at a continuation school. Over the last four years, 344 young people have been registered with the project, and the drop-out rate among them has been under 10 per cent. That has reduced the number by almost a half compared with the group who did not take part.

“The main reasons for pupils dropping out of their school year are general unhappiness, homesickness and psychological problems. On top of these, there are challenges that the young people may have from the way they grew up. They may have had difficult experiences which inevitably form a barrier to managing life at a continuation school,” says Nathasja Preus.

She explains that the lower drop-out rate among the young people included in the project is because they can take a breather with Allu.

“Allu is a place where these pupils can feel secure, while they can build up new networks and make friends, speak their own language, and, not least, talk to others in the same situation as themselves,” says Nathasja Preus.