Building a school in a third-world country
It only costs $8,500 to build a school in a third-world country. Did you know that?
Ok, so the economy might not be at its best at the moment, but I know there are a lot of people who have money and don't know what to do with it. You might be retired, you might have come into an inheritance, or you might have saved up. Wouldn't building a school for children who really need it be a wonderful way to spend that money?
There are many issues facing schools in third-world nations. For instance AIDS/HIV kills teachers at rapid rates in Africa; in South Africa, 30 percent of teachers are HIV positive. Third-world parents seek to send their children to private schools, as government systems offer no incentives for high scores; teachers receive the same pay regardless of scores or attendance.
I just want to remind everyone about the power of compassion. We have to act with humanity in mind because, as people, we have that power to love and hate, as well as the power to choose which we will do. We shouldn't be at peace with ourselves until we know we've done what we can to help others, I think. Even to give a little bit helps; on the Free The Children website, there was a paragraph about a boy who wanted to help build a school and collected soda cans and bottles... from the trailer park where he lived. He found it within himself to give $30, as much as he could.
Even if you know other fortunate people who could help contribute to the building of a school, it would help. Schools collect money to do so; children helping children happens across the world.
I guess I thought of writing this for several reasons. I thought about the war in Iraq and what soldiers are doing overseas (well, not the ones who tortured and humiliated detainees, or murdered civilians), and the sacrifices they make to help us in America as well as those in the Middle East. I thought about the last lecture by Randy Pausch, which is one of the most inspiring movies I've seen. I also thought about turning 21 years old, and having something to show for it.
I just think that this is something worth considering. Maybe you're feeling a little down and you want to do something to feel good about yourself. Maybe you just want to spend some money. You may even want to travel a little. If you don't have the $8,500 to build a school, you can maybe pay $2,000-3,000 to go on a volunteer trip!
Look into the different options available to you. There is so much you can do with your time and money, maybe worth more than anything you can think of doing for yourself alone.
Additional resources
- How To Build a School in a Third World Country | eHow.com
How to Build a School in a Third World Country. As the old parable says: 'Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.' There are many ways to help build schools in remote areas of the world that ... - Help Build a School in Nepal
- Build a School in Africa, a volunteer-run charitable organization
- Jackie Chan's Build a School for a Dollar
- Volunteer Abroad Opportunities
Volunteer Abroad with Global Crossroad in more than 30 Countries. Global Crossroad offers most reliable, quality, and affordable volunteer abroad, internship, adventure and cross-cultural experience world-wide - Volunteer Abroad, Gap Year Abroad, Intern Abroad with Cosmic Volunteers in Asia, Africa, South Ameri
Cosmic Volunteers offers international volunteer programs in 8 countries. Cosmic Volunteers is an international not-for-profit organization, founded in 2001 with operations in Ecuador, Ghana, India, Kenya, Nepal, Peru, the Philippines, Vietnam.
Comments
Jason Marek on August 03, 2017:
I am wanting to open a school in a third world country. It is something that has been on my mind for many years now. I currently stay in Thailand and own a few hostels. I would like to perhaps collaborate with someone in regards to this project. I can invest the funds but would maybe need additional help with all of the operations and ground work. If anyone wants to possibly point me in the right direction I would appreciate it. Thank you all.
Musa Mitekaro on May 27, 2017:
Twing Memorial Elementary School and Twing Memorial Secondary in Tanzania Africa are in desperate need of volunteers, books, builder and buildings. Think how you can be a drop which makes a rain and ocean by doing something to these two schools in Africa. My contact are mitekaro@yahoo. com. Be blessed
ROBA on March 18, 2017:
Thanks for the article. May I have an email address for Glassvisage. Thanks
Rev.Cornelius chinna s on October 29, 2014:
Dear Sir/madam
Greetings to you in the wonderful name of our lord Jesus Christ! i would like to inform about our ministry and the activities of our ministry. My name is Pastor S.Chinna (Cornelius). From state Orissa INDIA. I was born and brought up in Christian family. At the age of 15years I accepted the lord as my personal savior. After my graduation B.Sc. I applied Bible College in Ban galore. After my B.Th again I applied for M.Div in Ban galore. After that I came to Andhra Pradesh for ministry. We have involved different activities in our ministry. I was married in May 29.2007. God gave me wonderful life partner. Her name is Theresa she sings wonderful songs. God has blessed us wonderful male Son. We both are completely involved in full time ministry. We have a great vision for the unreached to reach and to touch the untouched. We are sharing the word of God many poor and needy people and lost people of Andhra Pradesh and state of Orissa India.
God gave us wonder vision through Mathew 28: 19-21. Fulfilling the great commission.
God is using us many parts of Andhra Pradesh state, Orissa state of India. We are winning the lost and reaching the every unreached village of East costal districts of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa state INDIA. Presently we are doing ministry in 185 villages. We are having many pastors under our leadership they are working with us.
We are keep reaching most interior remote villages small towns and sharing the love of God and planting the churches
So many people in India are still in darkness. They still don’t know about Jesus Christ. Through Gospel and with the love God and we are bringing them in to the light of Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ is their personal savior.
Many of our pastors are not getting any kind of source and they need financial support and they need good church buildings to conduct the regular service. In villages pastors are not getting any kind of financial support and the pastors facing many difficulties.
In the villages many of children’s are school drop outs and they are not getting any help from their parents and even in the villages mainly untouchable of low caste and in the community they have no rights to study with high communities. So none of them are giving hope and education.
We are now giving special coaching to the school dropouts and orphans children’s in 3 places with 287 children’s and we also giving food for them and teaching the love of God.
Our dream to have a children’s homes in different places and English school for them to have better future in coming days.
Our Humble prayers and requests to you all please kindly pray and if the lord allows to visit our ministry feel free to write to us
We will be happy to hear from your response
In His service
Rev.S.Cornelius &Sis. Theresa
Door no.5-10, Tulasinagar Street
Yellamanchili Village & Mandal
Visakhapatnam dist, pin.531055
Andhra Pradesh State
INDIA
Phone.91+9989796394.
Email. graceministries2007@rediffmail.com
Email. chinna_36@rediffmail.com
Email. Victoryindia424@gmail.com
WEBSITE: www.graceministriesinc.org
skype free computer telephone/video at pastor.cornelius
Isaiah 58: "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say:
Here am I."
Musa Gideon Mitekaro on April 23, 2014:
Help Needed
I am the director of Twing Memorial School (Primary School) in Tanzania Africa. Currently we are working on construction of Secondary School (Twing Memorial Secondary School). The two schools are charity schools which helps to educated girls and boys from poor families or orphans. We have grade one to seven of 560 pupils.
Our needs;
To construct more classrooms and Science laboratory
Volunteers at the school (teaching and construction) and visitors who would like to come and see our schools
Thanks a lot
Musa Gideon Mitekaro
email me at: mitekaro@yahoo.com
You can know more by visiting our website; grandmaafrica.com
Rose Achieng Ocholla on April 11, 2014:
Dear Beloved Servant of God,
The Executice Director/ Program Officer,
I hereby wish to submit this email to your most respected office with much honor requesting you to help us educate and take care over 800 orphans we do take care of through a home based care program.
We're LWAC Africa Networks that is an outreach arm of the church working in western part of Kenya since 2007.We've so far established two orphans and vulnerable schools that are giving basic education to over 650 orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs).
We've been receiving your updates on what your organization is doing to help the children globally.I therefore want to ask you very kindly to please come in and help us to help these needy and desperate children.
I'll feed you with more onformations later, otherwise on behalf of the boar of directos,I'll be much gratefull if our humble request would be granted.
Thank you,
Yours faithfully,
Pastor Rose Achieng Ocholla ,
Program Officer.
Kyewalabye John on March 08, 2013:
Dear Sir/Madam.
We wish to introduce ourselves as Kasambya Primary School, a rural community based private school situated in Mubende District,Uganda in
E/Africa that was founded with assistance of Anglican Church of Uganda by using its infrastructures 1995.
The School is with enrollment of 400 pupils, 15 teachers and 9 class rooms in semi completed permanent structures.
On addition to above, the School is faced with some challenges of not meeting the basic requirements due to limited funding. This is worsened by the community poverty and lack of securities from the founder to access loans in Banks and other financing institutions to address the existing challenges.
For that matter please, this is to kindly seek your guidance and assistance to enable us partner with your organization or link us to other organization to help in address areas of sponsorship of needy children, school younger farmers club, scholastic materials, rain water harvesting, food supplements, computers and infrastructural development/improvement among other things.
Hoping for your kind consideration.
Truly yours,
Kyewalabye John
School Director
E: kasambyaprimary@yahoo.com
E: kyewalabyejohn@yahoo.com
Rose Ocholla on December 29, 2011:
Dear beloved servant of God,
The President / Executive Director,
Blessings, love and peace from God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ be unto you . Glorify the Lord On behalf of the organization’s board. I thank the Almighty Father Jehovah God who has just connected us to you in a very amazing and miraculous way as we were checking some work done with the Heroes of the Nation. As I was going through the HTN website, but the Lord keep on sending me back to your organization. I can not understand why, but Lord knows! I humbly ask you that even though your focus is to South Africa, I kindly beg you to extend your services to East Africa.
I’m pastor by call, lover of children by virtue. I’m married with 6 children. I’m also taking care of 6 orphan children and living with them in my house. A part from being God’s servant, I’m a Program Officer of a Christian non profit organization termed as Love Witness Alliance Champions of Africa Network (LWAC Africa Network) Reg: BN/2011/141900. This organization is an outreach arm of the church and it has established an Orphans and vulnerable children school based here in Kenya (LWAC Academy). The school currently has 360 pupils. Out of 360 children, 200 OVCS (most children are AIDS orphans), while 160 are from lower class families. There also 80 orphan children who are not admitted in this school, but are taken care of through home based care program. We therefore take care of 440 OVCS.The organization being an outreach arm of the church, is taking care of children from Kenya and Tanzania where our churches are planted. The LWAC Academy School therefore is accommodating OVCS from both countries mentioned above.
The school starts from baby class, pre-unit and nursery to class eight next year. Even though the school dearly needs 12 classrooms, but we currently only have three classrooms. Other children are learning just under the trees. The school has 12 teachers, but the ministry of education is pressing that 3 more trained teachers should be employed by next year, 2012. Besides the urgently needed classrooms as stated, these children are hungry and needs food. They dearly need books, computers, medical care, shelter and sufficient nutrition in addition.
The main goal of LWAC Africa Network’s program is entirely to support the church and community’s efforts to care for the affected OVCS, disabled and widows by assisting them with their daily necessities, e.g. shelters, school fees, moral, nutrition, cloths, medicine and spiritual support and to bring about a sustainable change in their lives.
We have never built an orphanage yet although it is our major vision to have one. We have two centers, one in Kenya and the other one is in Tanzania. There is a need to open one in the masaai land by 2012.
We’ve Read and seen how you worked and supported the Heroes of the Nation in Central Kenya to reach its goal. It’s a good work in deed. Since we believe it is every child’s birthright to receive hope for a better future, education to grow, unconditional love, protection from disease and illness and later become champions, humbly request you to come and pay a visit to this project.
“Just one second with these amazing children at LWAC Academy and you will fall in love, as we did, forever. They become a part of your soul, heart, and inspiration for life. These children have lost so much, yet their hearts are filled with love and hope for the future. Together, we can return the love by giving hope, education, love and protection.”
In this regard, we long to see you come and work directly with the people on the ground that is already making a difference. It’s the only way to make sure that your resources or donations are going to be used directly to the communities and used by people who really know what the issues are.
Never doubt that you can make a difference -- directly to the people who need it most. We’ll be praying God to lead you to us at His own appointed time. We trust that if this is really God’s will then He’ll bring it to completion. I’ve therefore attached a some photographs of the children hoping they might help you to understand what we have on the ground-children’s photographs.
Remember that as we’ve been praying God to open some doors that could enabled us to support the OVCS, thus it came as a surprise while surfing that God led us to your wonderful website. There are some people in your country who know about this project. A missionary lady by name Elizabeth Guntrip has been to this project twice when she came to minister at a conference hosted by our church. I can give you her email / phone contact if you requested. I hope meeting her could help you to know much about the project. She was led to us through a lady minster by name Kerrie Price who lives in Brisbane.
Please take our request into your deep considerations; we are always ready to send you our detailed proposal and any information you might need to know from us.
Yours in His Christ Jesus,
Pastor Rose Ocholla.
glassvisage (author) from Northern California on October 23, 2011:
Thank you all! Luke, I've posted some additional information that can help to answer some of your questions in the Additional Resources section. Thanks for your questions.
Luke on October 23, 2011:
I am very interested in finding out slot more information about building schools in third world countries an whom I should be talking to who can help me get pointed it the right direction! ie: how to get funding, how to get other people involved an where are there high demands for the schools that have to get built! I am a builder by trade but can get people in other areas involved also would just like to be pointed in the right direction an talk with some people about my ideas! Feel free to contact me at trewie21@hotmail.com I would be extremely happy to have some thoughts an ideas throw my way! Thanx
volunteer free on August 24, 2010:
I know of a school complete that is not being used its in a rural area of Kwa Zulu Natal South Africa. It has great potential to be an adult learning facility in the mornings and an after school facility for students
dean.m@mailbox.co.za
Benjamin Butler on July 03, 2010:
Sorry, i can be contacted by email at www.butlerbenjamin@ymail.com. Thank you.
Benjamin Butler on July 03, 2010:
I have a question. I would like to start a charity in America, (my home country) that builds schools in Africa. I have alot of experience to fundraise, however I do not know how to find people "in-country" to build and run the schools. Anyone know how I can find honest and GOOD partners to be able to trust and PROVE!!!!! that the moneys being sent are building schools? Also, I want control over naming and some control over how the education is delivered.
Milan on June 20, 2010:
who do we contact if we want to donate money towards the $8500?
glassvisage (author) from Northern California on July 17, 2008:
Thank you for your comments, everyone!
It's so true that every click, every penny helps. It's the thought that counts, and though some of us don't have as much money as others (sigh), we can still do something. It helps to think about how much we have and what it would be like if we didn't have it all of a sudden.
I'm so happy to hear that you all have ways of giving, whether local charities or to AIDS orphans! :D
And about casinos... what a waste of money. I've never gambled and I certainly don't plan on it.
Clive Fagan from South Africa on July 17, 2008:
Great hub. it is wonderful that you can build awareness.
living africa one cannot be too aware of aids, poverty, education and the like. We (those of us ho can) are always giving to charities through our media and competitions (part of which in some cases is given to the needy) I also belong to an organisation whose prime purpose is to raise charity funds to give to the needy, Over one milllion Rand was given to Aids orphans last year.
ParadigmShift... from San Jose, CA on July 16, 2008:
Thank you on behalf of children across the world for writing this hub. There are so many ways for people to give back, but some simply aren't aware of the charities out there, or the struggles people are going through. We tend to be so caught up in our own lives that we forget how lucky we are compared to those wo have no schools, clean water, shelter, or even the promise of tomorrow. Hopefully some people will be inspired to give after reading this hub.
Chef Jeff from Universe, Milky Way, Outer Arm, Sol, Earth, Western Hemisphere, North America, Illinois, Chicago. on July 16, 2008:
The economy is bad for those of us who try to play by the rules, and that is a fact. However, I see a lot of people with more money than brains out there at the casinos, losing money right and left, and I wonder - where is their sense of humanity?
Whether one is religious, and therefore driven by the needs to do good things in the name of God, or if one is simply wanting to help others because we all live on this lonely, blue planet, I really wonder why people who get such a thrill at mindlessly pulling little slot-machine levers can't get an even larger thrill at building a school that will possible help educate a future doctor or help people learn to grow crops more productively while adding back nutrents to their otherwise depleted soils?
Maybe if those amongst us with excess cash - (I wish I were one of them, because I would definitely find ways to help others!) - would spend it on things that matter instead of feeding their own egos and addicitions, the world would slowly begin to climb up to a point where a bright future for everyone would be possible.
You may call me a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.
Great hub!
MJoyce on July 15, 2008:
I just hope this article will reach those people who have lots of money and good heart and willing to donate their resources to countries who really need a school...well done...
einron from Toronto, Ontario, CANADA on July 15, 2008:
It is good to know that a young person like you would think of doing good to people in Africa. Your mind is quite active in the right direction. Let us hope more young people will do the same. The world will be a better place to live in.
marisuewrites from USA on July 15, 2008:
This is good information. I have 3 stages of giving money, none of which are huge. I pick one local charity, one national charity, and one worldwide charity.
I give time, anywhere the inspiration to do so hits, and the little bit of money I give doesn't help a lot, but it's rice for the hungry and mosquito nets for the ill, and shelter for the homeless. Every penny matters. Every minute of time counts. There are some sights that donate rice for every click on certain links. It's a fun google search to seek out how you can give online.
Thanks for reminding us of that. =)
In The Doghouse from California on July 15, 2008:
Glassvisage,
There are so many wonderful causes that can be supported when you check into them. This was a wonderful reminder of how every little bit can help others when we decide to give. I loved how you made the comparison of how little a school would cost to build in a third world country. We in the US simply cannot comprehend how good we have it until we look around ourselves and really SEE! Thanks for the reminder of how we need to be less selfish and more giving.
