Wages rise 20% for every year beyond 4th grade that a girl remains in school.

There would be a 12% drop in global poverty if all students in low-income countries left school with basic reading skills.

Each extra year of preschool increases a person’s future productivity by 10-30%.

Countries that raise literacy rates by 20-30% have seen increases in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 8-16%.

Each 1% increase in the level of women’s education generates 0.3% in additional economic growth.

If all women in Sub-Saharan Africa had a secondary education, 1.8 million lives could be saved each year.

Women’s education is responsible for half of the reduction of child mortality over the past 40 years.

In sub-Saharan Africa, investing in girls’ education has the potential to boost agricultural output by 25%.

A farmer with just four years of education is 9% more productive than one with no education.

On average each additional year of schooling for a country’s population reduces the chances of falling into civil war by 3.6%.

People of voting age with a primary education are 1.5 times more likely to support democracy than people with no education.

It’s important to recognized that education can have far-reaching effects.  Making an investment in educational projects can dramatically change a person’s life in unexpected ways.  We’re eager to bring about that change and we hope that you’ll consider helping us!

I recently posted on the MSL Conversations Blog about my trip to Tanzania, and I’m posting it below to share with you all. Part 2 is coming soon!

- Alyssa

Three and a half years ago, I was another college student at Boston University trying to map out a career path, but unsure where I wanted to go. I love to write and my first dream job was to be an author, rather than, say, an astronaut. This led me from journalism to public relations. Why write the news when I can make the news? But more than that, I wanted to use my skills to help others.

This inspired me to join my fiancee, Brendan Callahan, to co-found Achieve in Africa (AIA), a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that is devoted to improving education in rural villages of Africa.

This past July, I got the opportunity to see what I’ve been working on for the first time when another organization expressed interest in sending a group of students to our project sites in Tanzania. Around this time, MSLGROUP Americas (Note: I work in the MSL Washington DC office) announced its Beyond Boundaries Experiential Awards designed to recognize and reward employees with learning and professional development opportunities that enhance their MSLGROUP Americas experience and deliver on agency values. One of the awards was a paid sabbatical to work on a cause program. I quickly jumped on the opportunity to win the sabbatical to pursue my volunteer work. When I received an email saying I won, I burst into tears of gratitude.

Along with Brendan and a group of volunteers, I was able to see our three projects: a classroom building in Olasiti Primary School outside of Arusha in northern Tanzania, a Community Learning Center in Ulolela village outside of Mbinga in southern Tanzania, and the site of Olasiti’s first secondary school (grades 7 and above), currently under construction.

While in Olasiti village, our group renovated seven classrooms by reinforcing the base of the walls with cement to avoid flooding, digging trenches to route rainwater away, and painting the outside of the classrooms. We also repaired a damaged classroom that was unusable by replacing the concrete floor, fixing cracked walls, and repainting the classroom inside and out. It sounds easy, but did I mention we mixed the cement by hand? And we painted with rollers stuck on the end of tree branches? It was a true lesson in what it means to be resourceful.

Olasiti village is unshakable — a community into which we were welcomed wholeheartedly. Olasiti Primary School’s headmistress taught me how to count in Swahili, how to carry a bucket of water on my head, and she gave me traditional handmade African cloth head wraps. I taught my “three African daughters” (who I wish I could’ve brought home with me) animal noises and ring-around-the-rosie, even though they were all under the age of five and didn’t understand any English. But aren’t they cute?

At Achieve in Africa, we value education. We value building relationships and utilizing those relationships to help others recognize their potential and build better futures for themselves.

If these are things that you value as well, then we encourage you to consider using this holiday season to make a difference in someone else’s life.

In that spirit, we’d like to remind you of ways that you can engage with the work of Achieve in Africa…

You can become an AIA Ambassador! As an ambassador you can fundraise with your classmates, group of friends, club, or on behalf of your town. No previous fundraising experience is necessary, just an interest in Achieve in Africa’s mission. To receive the AIA Ambassador Manual to help get you started, please email fundraise@achieveinafrica.org with your name, the city and state where you plan on fundraising, and any additional information you care to share to introduce yourself.

You can spread the word! Send a message to a friend, shop for AIA, or make a donation in someone else’s name. For ideas on how to educate others about AIA check out our page: http://www.achieveinafrica.org/spreadtheword.php

You can make a donation! It’s as easy as clicking a button (check out the sidebar).  We have enough stuff in our lives,  ignore the appeal of holiday sales and consider giving the gift of education on behalf of a loved one.

We appreciate your continued support.  Have a safe and enjoyable holiday season!

According to a UNESCO report on education in Africa, enrollment rates in higher education in sub-Saharan Africa are by far the lowest in the world.

The report brings to light the importance of higher education in our changing world:

“Higher education continues to play a vital role, which is likely to increase further, in the new knowledge-based and globalizing economy. Thus, beyond the question of the fundamental right to education of all levels, acquiring knowledge to navigate the complexities of this world is a necessity for everyone especially the groups that have been hitherto marginalized.

Women compose one of those marginalized groups.

In developing countries, especially in Africa, there are still historical, cultural, and economic factors that have been hindering women’s chances for access to and benefits from formal education, especially at the tertiary level.

Looking specifically at Tanzania, data from the Basic Education Statistics in Tanzania (BEST), shows that in both government and non-governmental higher learning institutions (of which there are currently 32), the percentage of female students has been rising from 31.4 percent  in 2007/2008 – or 16,358 students – to 37.1 percent (51,860 students) in 2010/2011. The total to both gender is 45,501 in 2007/2008 and 139,638 in 2010/2011.

Increasing tertiary education opportunities for women can make a big difference in Tanzania.  In the country today there is the saying ’ukimwelimisha mwanamke umeelimisha jamii’.  In English this means: “If you educate a woman, you educate a family.”  This statement captures the profound effect that women can have on the overall well-being of society.  By gaining access to higher education, women who aspire for knowledge  can supplement the communal struggle to eliminate poverty.

Associate Prof Marit Tjomsland of University of Bergen, Tunisia, insists that “ women’s higher education stands as a highly efficient way of shaping more gender-equitable societies and thus as a major vehicle for general development.”

Providing women in Africa with access to higher education opportunities can have a huge impact.  Increasing education can help to break down cultural barriers, remove gender stereotypes, and strengthen development efforts.

The Learning in a Village Project (LEVI), AIA’s partner in the CLC, recently sent an update to its constituents about AIA’s recent visit to the village:

In August, the Fourth-Annual Weeks of Sports and Learning descended upon Ulolela, bringing together villagers of all ages, government leaders and volunteers from the United States. For two weeks, the parties conducted stakeholders meetings, performed communal labor, and took part in reading, writing and athletic competitions.

Volunteers included Brendan Callahan, founder and president of Achieve in Africa; Alyssa Snow, co-founder and vice president Achieve in Africa; Michael Wurth, Jenny Le and Ethan Bockenstette, from United Students for Africa. The volunteers were greeted with a special ngoma, a traditional drum ceremony.

Alyssa Snow (right), vice president of Achieve in Africa, and Jenny Le,a volunteer from United Students for Africa, dancing at the ngoma.

At a village meeting to announce the opening of the CLC, Fokas Nchimbi, AIA’s Learning Center Program Manager and founder of LEVI, noted that Achieve in Africa was especially important, as we funded the construction of the CLC, as well as the solar panels on its roof.

Electrician installing a solar panel at the Ulolela Community Learning Center

Fokas Nchimbi also stressed the importance of HIV/AIDS education and prevention, as lack of knowledge about the disease is one of the current challenges facing Ulolela.  At the meeting, Brendan Callahan, AIA’s president, introduced new learning program curricula (Self-Empowerment for Women, Business Education, HIV/AIDS Education and Internship Training) that will be implemented at the Ulolela Community Learning Center.

Great progress is being made in Ulolela and we are excited to see the Learning Center and the programs implemented serve as valuable educational resources for the community.

If you would like to learn more about the Learning Center and how you can help support the project, please visit our website.

Progress has been made. If we want to end this global epidemic, however, that progress must continue.

In an article in the Wall Street Journal today, former President George W. Bush  stated that “the promise of progress against the disease has never been more vivid—or more fragile.”  The US has dedicated tremendous funds and brainpower to fighting this disease, but the battle is not won yet and it is important that we keep focused on our goal.  President Bush made that point clear in his message:  ”At the same time that a renewed commitment on AIDS is needed, there is a risk it could be weakened. America and Europe face fiscal constraints. During moments of economic hardship, there is a temptation for Americans to disengage from the world. But isolationism is always shortsighted and too often leads to greater hardship and despair in places that need our help…In the U.S., foreign humanitarian assistance, including AIDS relief, represents less than 1% of our federal budget. It is not the cause of our fiscal problems. Reducing our commitment would only succeed in increasing the sum of suffering.”

There have been many commemorative  events today — one of which brought together three presidents of the United States.  President Obama, along with former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, as well as Alicia Keys, Bono, and other notable AIDS activists, joined in a discussion this afternoon about the future of AIDS eradication.  In his address, Obama emphasized that we are at the “beginning of the end of AIDS”.  Obama announced $50 million in new money for domestic treatment plans as well as insisted on the importance of international support: “it’s important to keep in mind that this is a global fight, one that America must continue to lead.” (If you would like to view the entire presentation, click here)

Education is a crucial tool in this battle.  Commit yourself to the cause and EDUCATE yourself on this issue – so that you can more effectively share that information with others and serve as a powerful agent for change.

As Obama stated earlier today, “We just have to keep at it, steady, persistent, today, tomorrow, and every day until we get to zero…that has to be our promise to each other — because we have come so far; we have saved so many lives. We might as well finish the fight.”

In honor of this week we want to highlight the importance of education and recognize the incredible impact that quality education can have around the world.  USAID has put out an infographic that shares information about how education can help individuals overcome poverty.  It’s a great reminder that education is the foundation to human development.  Education has a far-reaching impact on our lives – whether it be through our economic, social, or physical well-being.  Below are some facts that we’d like to share from the infographic.

A child born to an educated mother is 2x as likely to survive to age five.

Educated mothers are 50% more likely to immunize their children than mothers without an education.

Every extra year of schooling increases  productivity by 10-30%.

Individual earnings increase by 10% for each year of school completed.

A girl who completes basic education is 3x less likely to contract HIV/AIDS.

Educated women re-invest 90% of their income in their family.  Men invest 30-40%.

But still today…

1 in four women around the world cannot read this sentence.

Girls make up 53% of the children out of school.

98% of people who can’t read live in developing countries.

Be grateful for the education that you have received – but continue to look critically at the improvements that must be made in education throughout the world.   As an organization, we are working hard to bring about some of those improvements, so please consider supporting us and joining us in our efforts!

Enjoy this wonderful week!

Alyssa Snow (Co-founder/Vice President):

I am committed to the work of Achieve in Africa because I want to use my skills to help others. I believe that we’re all given talents and a short amount of time to use them, and that we should use them for the betterment of all people, not just ourselves. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunities I’ve been given – loving family and friends that support me, the opportunity to receive an education and the freedom to follow my passions. I want to do everything I can to help others to feel the same.

There is so much need in the world, and it’s hard to try to focus on one aspect to change or help above others. My hope is that by giving people the opportunity to learn and be educated, they can forge their path to make sustainable change. It’s the idea of “give a man a fish and he eats for a day; teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.” The same can be said for healing the sick and preventing illness in the first place, or giving money compared to teaching someone a trade so they can make money. If we keep doing what we’ve always done, we’ll keep getting what we’ve always gotten. But if we get opportunities to learn or create new ways of doing things, that’s we can start making real change.

1. Halloween is social.  Parents parade their kids out in neighborhoods and costume parties for all ages are everywhere. Halloween is the holiday of weak ties and you should capitalize on its casual, fun and social nature.

Halloween is packed all into one exciting night. The major holidays seem to drag on forever. But Halloween has a zombie-like following that kids and adults crave like the undead love brains! Feed the need with your Halloween fundraiser.

Halloween is non-denominational. You’re not stepping on any toes by having a Halloween fundraiser. It’s not a religious holiday that’s going to exclude anyone and ruffle some feathers. It’s kind of like Thanksgiving with candy instead of turkey. Most people love it!

Halloween is part of everyone’s business model these days. Department stores, convenience stores, party stores and supermarkets, they all sell Halloween costumes, candy and decorations. They are all potential partners for your Halloween fundraiser.

Waters also presents 8 easy ways to get started with Halloween fundraisers, here are some of the ones that seemed most useful for non-profit fundraising:

1. Seasonal Halloween stores pop up everywhere this time of year. Find out which stores setup in your area from your local chamber or town hall and plan a fundraiser. Spirit Halloween, which has 900 temporary stores from Labor Day to early November, has already raised $2.5 million for children’s hospitals this month. It’s worth looking in to.

2. Wear your cause on your sleeve. If you favor a particular cause, pick a costume that reflects it.

3. Try reverse trick or treating. Instead of asking for treats, deliver information cards to  bring awareness about your cause.

4.  What’s stopping you from collecting money like UNICEF? If you show up at a neighbor’s door with a homemade coin canister for your favorite cause, will they really say no because you’re not toting an orange UNICEF box?

5. Zombie walks are dead and growing! The Chronicle of Philanthropy had a good article last week on how these lurching, gory walks are becoming popular in many cities.

Although we may have missed our chance to get in on the lucrative festivities this year, the article certainly presents some fun and creative ways to approach fundraising in the future.  Something to keep in mind for the next holiday season!

Headlines include:

- AIA Volunteers Renovate Seven Classrooms While in Tanzania

- New School, Classroom by Classroom

- CLC Provides Light, and Hope

- Become and AIA Ambassador!

If you’d stay up-to-date on AIA’s work and  learn more about our projects in Olasiti and Ulolela, be sure to subscribe so that you can continue to receive our newsletters!  It’s simple to sign up – just visit our website  and enter your information into the box on the bottom right corner of our homepage.

Thank you for your continued support!

-Kristin