While India has significant pockets of success, it is also home to millions of impoverished children. Bonded labor, forced early marriage for girls, disease and poverty are hard realities for many children.

After the listening tour, GEF decided to award grants to several partners working in India. One such partner is Project Vision, led by Dr. Geetha Narayanan. Project Vision is currently being implemented at three learning centers for children from seven urban slum communities in Bangalore, India.

Dr. Narayanan developed Project Vision with MIT Media Labs based on the question “What would it be like if every student was given the same cognitive tools and advantages?”

Dr. Narayanan inspired us all with her trailblazing approaches to educating children living in poverty. She has taken the education curriculum she developed at traditional schools she founded – with learning through art, design, and environmental sustainability – to teach critical thinking and problem solving to children living in slums.

The curriculum takes “children where they are, now” and educates them in support of national test taking as well as skill building for livelihoods to become self-sufficient in their communities when they become adults.

Dr. Narayanan recently visited GEF in Boulder, Colorado, where she led a roundtable discussion with local education reformers and community leaders and shared her expertise on educating children living in urban poverty.

She visited education innovators at a local school and was the guest speaker at GEF’s annual gala in October.

Because of your support, Global Education Fund continues to seek out innovative approaches like Project Vision to educate children living in poverty.

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Your support has helped over 100 scholars stay in school and participate in literacy, leadership and mentorship programs that will help them prepare to be leaders in their communities.

All of Global Education Fund scholars live in extreme poverty and have no ability to pay for tuition. The Kenyan government does not pay for students to attend school after the 8th grade. The opportunity to stay in school instead of dropping out is life changing for our students and you helped make that possible. Not only are they doing well academically but they are also learning practical skills that will enable them to make the world, and particularly Africa, a better place.

Thanks to you, over 100 children from the slums of Nairobi have stayed in school, are getting a quality education, and are excelling academically and personally.  And thousands of children and families are able to access books and other literacy materials at learning centers supported by Global Education Fund.

By the Numbers

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The literacy rates are chronically low there, especially for rural indigenous girls. Thanks to your support, Global Education Fund is focused on literacy support through the provision of Spanish language books and teacher support for reading programs in local communities. As children become readers, they are more likely to stay in school and are exposed to possibilities beyond what they see every day in their communities.

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Unfortunately, once Savita and several of her friends arrived in Delhi, they were forced into slavery as domestic servants. When they protested, they were beaten and separated. Neither Savita’s family nor the girls received any income and the so-called “agency” pocketed all their earnings. Sadly, this type of child slavery is all too common in India, as well as in other developing countries.

Thankfully, the Movement for Child Rights to Childhood (MCRC) raided the agency, rescued the girls and re-united them with their families. MCRC is working with Savita and her friends to catch them up on their education so they can re-enter school.

Thanks to you, Global Education Fund supports teacher training for the school that MCRC runs for children. With this support, Savita and others like her can be children again, get an education and become productive members of their communities. Savita also educates families not to believe these agents who come and depict rosy dreams.  Savita is living proof that education gives children the chance to make a difference in their own lives and communities.

See a short video about Savita on GEF’s YouTube channel

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Salim Mohamed, a member of the GEF Kenya Board of Advisors, recently earned a Master’s Degree in International Development and Management.

GEF Staffer on Loan to Kenya Program

Global Education Fund program officer Suzanne Mieko Thomson is spending a year in Nairobi.

Kenya Board Member Earns Graduate Degree

Salim Mohamed, a member of the GEF Kenya Board of Advisors, recently earned a Master’s Degree in International Development and Management. Behind this distinction is a remarkable story.

Mohamed is an orphan who grew up near, and later lived in Kibera, one of the largest, sprawling slums in the world — with over one million people, half of them children, in Nairobi, Kenya.

Faced with the barriers Mohamed has endured, most people with no college or even a high school education would have not dared to dream, nevertheless dream big. Not Mohamed.

With a high school certificate and no undergraduate degree or diploma certificate but hard earned practical experience and leadership skills, he enrolled in a graduate program at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. He graduated with a master’s degree.

Mohamed is modest, saying he owes everything to the communities he worked with which taught him humility and values he could have never acquired at school.

“There are always alternatives in   life. I took the alternative of not playing soccer and ended up spending a lot of time on leadership. There is need for young people to give back in terms of knowledge. Every young person is a change-maker.”

Today, Mohamed is mentoring young people to achieve their dreams. He encourages them to never give up, even when things look bad. Global Education Fund is proud to have Mohamed as a friend and colleague, along with other local leaders, in support of our work for children in Kenya.

GEF Staffer on Loan to Kenya Program

Global Education Fund program officer Suzanne Mieko Thomson is spending a year in Nairobi, supporting the Global Education Fund scholarship, leadership and literacy programs and working closely with the GEF Kenya Board of Advisors. She is helping us stay true to our value of listening to local leaders and building our programs through local partners. She is also becoming well-grounded in Kenya, its people, and culture, and having the opportunity to work with Kenyans to develop our programs on the ground. A mutually rewarding exchange!

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We’ve all heard it — probably since our very first holiday seasons: “It is far better to give than receive.” But that’s hard to believe when you’re young (or waiting in line to see Santa).

What I’ve found personally over the years is that I get an almost guilty pleasure in learning that just one of my actions is truly improving the life of someone else.  Even if it’s in the form of a small, gentle gesture.

Having always tried to surround myself with like-minded individuals, I now feel as close as ever to the Global Education Fund – and to its mission of “improving the lives of children living in poverty through education.” It has become increasingly clear to me that a major factor in breaking the cycle of poverty begins with education.

This is what GEF does, and does well. And humbly: putting books, school supplies, and even libraries in places where they were once absent.

With a nod toward community leadership and guiding mentors.  I admire this style: one that respectfully listens to needs of key local voices in the areas in which GEF assists; then goes straight to work.

To be able to trust outright an entity, especially a lean non-profit, to do the right thing with the money and resources it receives, is priceless. As someone who’s served on the GEF Board, I can say with equal parts pride and conviction that this group truly cares about at-risk youth, worldwide. This care, and worthy focus, is why I have and will continue to support the GEF cause for years to come.

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Vision. Global Education Fund (GEF) is committed to helping children see possibilities beyond what they experience every day and we work to give children the opportunity to make a difference in their lives and communities. Through education, we envision each child having access to the greater world and the opportunity to participate in it.

 Values. GEF stays true to the following values in deciding which educational initiatives to support:

• Locally led. Listen to people in the communities we serve to understand local needs.
• Collaborative. Partner with leaders who have the skills and experience to address those needs.
• Innovative. Leverage resources to create sustainable, innovative solutions.
• Accountable. Demonstrate accountability, integrity and transparency for maximum impact.

Current Programs

GEF focuses on programs in three high need countries that also have qualities for success: Kenya, India and Guatemala.

More About Us

• Board and Staff
• Contact Us

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GEF excels at identifying local partners with sustainable solutions, working with the local community to implement these solutions, and then sharing the learning in peer-to-peer exchanges.


GEF works with local communities to find and share new models that break down barriers to education and then ensures that these solutions are delivered with integrity, efficiency and accountability. We believe that grassroots advocacy helps create change in each community.

Know that you are truly helping make a difference through education for children living in poverty around the world!

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• India Update
• Kenya Scholarships
• GEF Mission & Vision
• Guatemala Update
• India Student Spotlight
• Guatemala Student Spotlight

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