RP389 Education Where It's Needed Most

 RP389 Education Where It's Needed Most

After a near-death experience inspired him to see the world, Adam Braun began backpacking in some of the world's poorest countries. He traveled from the deprived townships of South Africa to the starving streets of Cambodia. But it was in India where the idea for Pencils of Promise struck him. A small beggar boy held out his hand for some money. Instead of immediately giving money, Braun asked the boy what he wanted most in the world. “A pencil,” the boy replied.
From that moment on, Braun would buy large stacks of pencils and pens wherever he went and would give them to the children who lived on the street. He quickly realized that pencils, the tools for an education, were far more valuable to these children than anything else.
In 2008, just before his 25th birthday, Braun put $25 into a savings account in the hope of starting a fund to build just one school in a poor area of the world. The reaction to his pledge, however, was quite extraordinary.
Within six months he had raised over $50,000 and had 75 volunteers ready to start building a preschool in Laos.
“It was funded by 2,000 individual contributions of less than $100 each. That is the grassroots-style movement we hope to create and build upon as we grow,” Braun said, encouraging the involvement of people at a local level.
The first school, built in 2009, was a great success. It took only three months to build and cost $18,000. This cost included teachers' salaries, school materials, and three years' maintenance costs. One of Pencils of Promise's policies is that the community in which the school is built must fund 10 percent of the project. They can do this by providing workers and building materials, and this ensures that the whole community is involved in and cares about the project.
But the organization is much more than just a construction company. It now trains teachers and provides long-term support for schools in Laos, Ghana, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, regularly checking in and testing students to ensure that standards remain high. It has also started a program called WASH, ensuring clean bathrooms are available and teaching children about water and health.
So far, Pencils of Promise has built over 400 schools, taking education to places where money is scarce but the desire for education is plentiful.