‘ EDUCATION IS POWER ’ PROGRAM
The Sonder Project
‘ EDUCATION IS POWER ’ PROGRAM
Formerly known as our Student Sponsorship Program , the Education is Power program identifies students with high-achieving potential who are financially vulnerable to dropping out , and provides them with the school fees and material resources necessary to stay in school and focus on their education . Education is Power students also benefit from direct one on one mentoring with Sonder Project staff . In 2022 , we sponsored a total of 201 students and introduced our very first class of sponsored students from Burkina Faso in October .
After two complete school years running the program , we have learned some valuable lessons and have made some exciting changes moving into school year # 3 . Namely , all new students selected into our program will be secondary school students ( grade 7-13 , exact grades vary by country ). There are several reasons for this change :
1 . Secondary school students are more likely to drop-out of school specifically because of financial hardship . The costs are simply higher , at least ten times as high , and in some cases , significantly more .
2 . Students who complete secondary school are more likely to escape poverty compared to a student who only completes primary school . According to a study conducted by UNESCO , 55 % of the world ’ s poor could be lifted out of poverty through universal secondary school achievement . 1 The same study goes on to say that one year of education is estimated to increase wage earnings by 13 % in sub- Saharan Africa . If our goal is to help communities lift themselves out of poverty , then our greatest chance is to focus on secondary school students .
3 . The opportunity to receive a sponsorship for secondary school also motivates younger students because they will have a chance to be sponsored in their future . By focusing on secondary school students , more students will be inspired , and have the opportunity to reach their full potential .
1
UNESCO . “ Reducing global Poverty through universal primary and secondary education ”. Policy Paper 32 / Fact Sheet 44
Our first class of 30 sponsored students from Burkina Faso consisting of 20 girls and 10 boys .
14