Geneva Global, Inc.

Children enjoy the benefits of a low cost private school in Hyderabad, India

Without education, it is nearly impossible for a child to escape the cycle of poverty, yet for many in the bottom billion – the poorest of the world’s poor – public schools, where they are available, often fail to equip children with the skills needed to thrive in the modern world.

But in some of the most disadvantaged places on earth, in the slums, shanty towns and villages across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, there is an extraordinary blossoming of affordable private education as an alternative to badly managed public schools. It is poor communities themselves, in choosing to move their children into affordable private schools, who have affirmed the value of this educational alternative. Recent research has found that a large majority – 65 to 75% – of schoolchildren in poor urban areas of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia are being educated in these private schools. These educational alternatives, often run on a business model, are providing children from some of the world’s poorest communities with higher quality education than local public schools – a fact confirmed by research conducted by Professor James Tooley of Newcastle University (UK), and others.

Children from the slums of Makoko, Nigeria attend class at an affordable private school.

The Beautiful Tree Education Fund has been established in cooperation with Professor Tooley, whose path-breaking research on affordable private education for the poor has been published in his book, The Beautiful Tree. The Fund and the book take their name from Gandhi’s reference to the effectiveness of India’s 19 century sustainable education system, based on affordable community-based private schools. The Fund will provide grants to increase access to these schools for the very poor, and to improve the schools’ ability to offer high-quality education. Through resource sharing, capacity building, infrastructure improvements, teacher training and curriculum development, these low-cost schools can significantly improve the quality of education that many of the world’s poor children receive. By providing the best of these schools with one-time grants to improve facilities and teacher and administrator capacity, the Fund is improving the effectiveness, viability and sustainability of the schools, increasing both the quality of education and the schools’ long-term economic viability. Scholarships will also allow these schools to reach more of the most vulnerable children in the communities they serve.

With a better education, children can find their own way out of the slums and shanty towns and into a healthier, more prosperous future. Every contribution of $5,000 to the Fund utilized to make education available to a community’s poorest children helps as many as 90 impoverished children gain access to a better educational experience, at an average cost of only $55 per child per year. Every $5,000 contributed to the Fund utilized for infrastructure improves conditions at schools serving approximately 4,000 children, at an estimated cost of only $1.25 per child who benefits. These examples illustrate the value the Fund offers in providing life-changing educational experiences for some of the world’s poorest children.

Minimum Investment: $5,000