Social enterprise- how do they tackle social problems?
Social Enterprises play an integral role in helping to tackle social problems.
Organisations such as mine provide a free and safe environment for children to play in. This helps the parents or carers, the children themselves, and also the wider community.
Parents or carers whose children attend our play sessions have much more free time which they can use to work, spend time with their other children, family, etc. This can make a great difference to the quality of life of these families. In many cases the parents will also learn from the children as they bring their knowledge back into the family home. In this way we can influence even adults.
The main beneficiaries of our clubs are the children who attend. In modern society children can very easily remain indoors playing video games, watching television, surfing the internet, etc. While these activities can be beneficial, excess of them can lead to numerous problems, for example, child obesity. Other children who are outdoors but have nothing to do or nowhere to go, often end up in trouble.
We teach children many things which are not thought in the education system. Learning through play, as opposed to education, is very useful for teaching life skills. We structure our programmes to ensure that children learn key things such as responsibility for their actions, respect for one another and authority, appreciation of other cultures, etc. Children who attend clubs like ours are more likely to develop positively, and in many cases will return to help in some way in the future.
The community in which we work benefits also. Social problems like youth crime can be reduced through involving more children in our groups. Our groups are made up of all races and culture and this greatly helps to reduce tension within the local community as we promote understanding and breaking down culture