Great things happen

When adults consider what children need to grow and develop!

Matt Bontrager and Olivia Salsbery spent their summer internship making a video about what children need to grow up healthy, happy and ready to be independent.

“We didn’t know what we were getting into when the Dekko Foundation asked us to interview people about the needs of children for our summer internship,” say Matt and Olivia. “We probably could not have answered the question: what do children need to thrive? But the project turned into much more than an internship assignment when we realized how ready the people were to share their stories.”

“We talked with a teacher who watched as usually loud, rambunctious children came quietly into her classroom from recess, picked up their reading materials and begin working without being asked. Another found his students coming to class engaged and well-prepared every day – excited about school. One found that the children felt safe in her youth center and saw the children began to realize their purpose. It wasn’t easy for the teacher to take on the 25 kids in her classroom. But when she met their needs, the kids made it easy.

“People are excited. They are passionate about what’s going on in their programs. They watch and listen as children begin to grow and develop. When they stopped and listened to the children, heard what they needed and met those needs, the children began to bloom.”