STRENGTHENING SCHOOLS
The Sonder Project
STRENGTHENING SCHOOLS
In addition to constructing schools , The Sonder Project began a new initiative in 2023 to help improve education quality .
We completed 2023 with two new primary ( elementary ) school blocks , one each in Malawi and Burkina Faso . Public primary school infrastructure is sorely underfunded in most of our partner communities where we encounter buildings that are dilapidated and unsafe for students . Poor primary school infrastructure has a direct effect on education sustainability , as it impedes student learning and teacher retention , leading to dropouts and low quality education .
New , modern school blocks excite students and teachers alike , laying down fundamental tracks that lead to secondary school , graduation , higher education , and careers -- all of which impact the long-term economic development of communities .
This year , in response to critical feedback about a severe textbook shortage in several of our partner communities in Malawi , we took a significant step towards strengthening schools . In some subjects , teachers possessed the only available textbook . This lack of educational resources was hindering the learning process . How can we build schools and sponsor students when textbooks are not readily available ?
As a result , in two primary schools where we built school blocks , we supplied a complete set of Malawi textbooks for every subject in Grades 5-8 . We also provided lockable storage cabinets to ensure safekeeping . Each school received over 1,000 new textbooks , enabling every student to have access to a textbook for every subject .
Students from Kasikidzi Primary School display the newly received textbooks , distributed by The Sonder Project , for the first time .
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