THE SONDER PROJECT YEAR 2017
a year ' s overview
WHERE WE ARE NOW
We ' ve come so far since the day back in 2014 that we first decided we were going to do everything we possibly could to make the world a better place . As we headed into 2015 , we were so excited to get started . In that first year , we committed to building 2 primary schools in Burkina Faso , Africa . Something we tackled head-on . It ' s hard to believe that it took only 2 years to go from plans for 2 schools to plans for 5 schools , water wells , deworming projects , honey bee projects and even eyeglasses . When we began the year we were ready to hit the ground running and impact the world in a positive way . Through our projects and experiences in 2017 , we came to discover that we were driven to do even more . To go beyond the projects that we ' d become comfortable with and strike out into new territory as we begin to solidify who The Sonder Project truly is . While our 2017 projects were spread all over the world in some of the poorest countries on earth , when discussions for 2018 plans began , we knew we wanted to go back to where it all began .
Focusing our work in Burkina Faso in 2018 was an easy choice . Of all the places we ' ve worked , this was noticeably the country with the greatest need . The Human Development Index tells us this is the 7th economically poorest country in the world and our own observations confirm the situation here . Late in 2017 , we opened an office in Ouagadougou , Burkina Faso , the nation ' s capital . This location is manned by our newest employee and old friend , Martin Nansia . Martin will be serving as our eyes and ears in the country . He will help us ensure that we are choosing projects with the greatest possible impact . In 2018 he will also be overseeing these projects and ensuring that they are executed well and continuing to help those in need . We feel we ' ve accomplished some really wonderful things since we began . We also feel that 2017 was not only our best year yet , but a true turning point for us as an organization . We know the best is yet to come and hope you ' ll come along for the ride as we continue this amazing journey .