• We equip them with education to go back into the mainstream schools.
• We empower the children to rise above their circumstances and focus on high self-esteem.
• We give them hope to break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy.
• We endeavour to install Godly values into the lives of the children in our care.

The majority of Tereo’s children come from dysfunctional families, where extreme poverty is prevalent with some sleeping on the street, many children are neglected, abused and often at risk of even more abuse and violence. As a result of their circumstances many fall out of or have never been part of the schooling system.  Tereo is the only safety net of this kind for these children, in the area. The Tereo Community School and Project aims to empower the children to rise above their circumstances and focus on high self-esteem. Through this initiative we aim to break the cycle of poverty caused by little or no education and give them an alternative to turning to crime or prostitution which so many are forced to do so due to circumstances.  Over the past 22 years we have been able to impact the lives of more than 1000 children.

There are currently 84 children in the school, whose ages range from 6 years old to 15 years old. All the children are from disadvantaged communities in the surrounding areas of Somerset West, in the Western Cape. Tereo is situated in The Old Ambulance Station, Victoria Street, Somerset West. The school is registered with the Western Cape Education Department. Children attend the school for a number of reasons:-

• never attended school before, irrespective of their age;
• dropped out of school and never returned;
• cannot get into school because of overcrowding, lack of birth certificates and other related reasons.