Education

Known as “La Valle de Intag” Cotacachi, Ecuador is a lush fertile zone where agriculture flourishes. But with 87% of the population living at the poverty line and 44% depending solely on agriculture, there is a dire need to strengthen economic opportunities in the region.

After years of work and sacrifice, the Inta-Kara Advancing Life Center opened in 2020 and has taught five subjects thus far with over 600 graduates. Over 300 students will be able to attend the school every year—with seven different vocational certification programs to choose from.

Of the entire indigenous population in Guatemala, 80% live in poverty while one in three cannot read. 95% of the students who learn computer skills will be able to continue their education or become employed upon completion of their public education.

In Guatemala, the Spark Reading program provides books and training to double the amount of learning in the classroom. This allows children to learn to read better, faster, and earlier in pre-k through sixth grade classes. We have sponsored 4 villages, providing over 400 children and 24 teachers with better education.

Additionally, in Guatemala, a computer center offers high-quality technology instruction to hundreds of schoolchildren each week. This equips them with the technological skills necessary to secure jobs after graduation or continue their education. Nine out of 10 students either secure jobs or continue their education. We have sponsored the build-out o three computer labs in remote indigenous villages.

Get involved

In Cambodia, 77% of adults are illiterate. Advancing Life has provided funding to repair and reopen two schools in villages one hour outside of Siem Reap. Since 2019, we have supported 700 children in daytime education programs. In the evenings, the school offers additional English lessons to adults and children. Learning English in Cambodia allows citizens to profit from the tourism industry, increasing their earning potential from roughly $2/day to $40/day.

Roughly one-third of the Navajo Nation lacks clean water or basic plumbing at home. In these areas, 36% of the adult population aged 25 or older have the educational equivalent of a high school diploma. An additional 27% have even less education than that, meaning 63% of adults have no education beyond high school. This lack of education and employable skills contributes to an average annual per capita income of $9,800. Nearly 40% of Native Americans live below the poverty line and 55% are unemployed. Our collaboration with our partners is an effort to help provide a sustainable water solution, as well as an employment solution.

In the Navajo Nation, we have funded the build-out of a wet lab at the community college. This wet lab will provide hands-on training for plumbing students and give them the opportunity to be certified plumbing apprentices by the end of their program.

Northern Ghana suffers from illiteracy and lack of education. Only 59.4% of the children attend primary. Additionally, this region has the lowest literacy rate amongst females with only 44.3% of young women aged 15-24 being able to read and write. The lack of education is due to several factors; the infrastructure of the schools is in poor condition and sometimes are unsafe, the women and girls need to walk several kilometers a day to carry water, the men an boys work the fields to provide for their families.

In partnership with Engage Now Africa, the foundation has financed the construction of a new kindergarten, primary school, and junior high school in the Kassena Nankana district, located in the Upper East region of Ghana. The Kannadiga Atiyorum schools have classrooms for pre-K and grades 1-8, and are equipped with electricity, a water well, and a library. This safe and clean learning environment will enable children to receive an education without disruption due to weather. At the end of the school day, children can bring water home from school.