Unleashing the Power of Education to Transform Communities
Education for Every Child
Village Impact works alongside communities and local partners because we are passionate in our conviction that access to quality education is the cornerstone of empowering children. Our mission is to help children unlock their potential, live full and productive lives, and become active participants in transforming their families, communities, and nation.
Education is one of the U.N’s 17 Global Goals to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity. Yet there are still 258 million children and youth in the world who are not enrolled in education— more than half of these live in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Challenge in Kenya
With its significant lack of infrastructure, isolated internally displaced people communities face an acute need for school buildings. Either there are no schools at all, or existing make-shift buildings are in such a poor state of repair that they are uninhabitable in the rainy season and dangerously close to collapse.
In January 2003, Kenya’s newly-elected Kibaki government made primary education free. While communities welcomed this announcement, the government and local infrastructures are still struggling to catch up.
There are still nearly 4,000 primary and approximately 65,000 secondary school-age children out of school in the areas in which we work.
There are still nearly 4,000 primary and nearly 65,000 secondary school-age children out of school in the areas in which we work.
Did you know?
- A single year of primary school increases the eventual wages earned by 5 to 15% for boys and even more for girls.
- For each additional year of secondary school, a girl’s income can increase by up to 20%.
- A child whose mother is literate is 50% more likely to survive to past the age of 5.
- Inadequate education is almost like no education at all—effective teachers are the most important influence in a student’s learning.
- More than 80% of businesses in Kenya are small and medium-sized enterprises.
- Over 92% of small and medium-sized businesses are micro establishments employing between 1 and 9 people.
How We Bring Education to Children
Building & Resourcing Schools
Village Impact partners with vulnerable communities to build schools and classrooms. But this is only the beginning! We also resource the schools with essentials like desks and chalkboards, textbooks, science labs and school libraries, latrines, clean water and handwashing stations, electricity, kitchens, school gardens and teacher accommodations. We also hire counseling staff, who provide one-on-one and group counseling support sessions to students at many schools. All our projects are community-driven and, once completed, each school is community-owned and government-supported.
Professional Development
We believe that good teachers and principals make all the difference in student success. That’s why, with your help, we invest in continuing education for all our school staff. Teachers and principals decide what they need. We fund the training that best equips them (through seminars, workshops, conferences, mentorship and other activities) with the relevant, current and practical knowledge, skills, values and attitudes that promote academic excellence in teaching and learning. These activities improve teaching skills and ensure the better academic performance of our students.
Extension Learning / Business Training
We work to answer the question: what can be done to harness would-be youth entrepreneurs’ potential and maximize their chances of success? When students see beyond their day-to-day environment and are exposed to the world of possibilities that await them, everything can change. Students at Village Impact school have opportunities to go on field trips and to student conferences and participate in residential summer camps that help young people build the mindset and skills they need to develop their businesses and lift themselves out of poverty.
Simply put, education and business training create opportunities for children, their families and their communities to realize positive transformation—making it one of the most effective ways to break the cycle of poverty for the long term.
Learn More About How We Do It
See Where We Work
No child should be forced to study outside, or in a dangerous environment—or have no access to school at all. With a good education, children can escape poverty.
Our Story
Shortly before Christmas in 2006, Amy McLaren turned to her future husband and pitched the ideal of going on a trip over the holidays. Given Amy’s adventurous spirit and fondness for living and working in far-off-places, her fiancée, Stu McLaren, shouldn’t have been surprised when she also suggested that for the trip, they raise some money and education supplies to donate to a vulnerable community in need.
Though Stu had every faith in Amy’s vision, he wasn’t sure that they could organize the details so quickly. But, Amy wouldn’t budge. Recalls Stu, “She told me, you are the business guy, you raise the money and I’ll arrange the trip.”
Together they raised $17,000 and headed to a village in El Salvador, using the donations to buy supplies for a local school.
This experience changed everything—and Village Impact was born.
More than a decade later, this shared vision and heart for making a positive difference in the world has grown into a community-led model of development that, by working through local partners and generous supporters from around the world, helps achieve long-term change for children, families and communities.
Meet The Team
Meet the people working behind the scenes locally and internationally to improve the lives of children.
Meet The Team
Meet the people working behind the scenes locally and internationally to improve the lives of children.
Where Your Money Goes
Accountability, transparency and governance are our commitment to you.
