Foreword: An Integrated Approach for Communities to Lift Themselves from Poverty
The Sonder Project is built on the understanding that progress is interconnected. Access to clean water, quality education, and sustainable agriculture are interdependent pathways that together create the conditions for people and communities to thrive.
Through our three core programs— Water Is Our Right, Education Is Power, and Planting Opportunity— we partner with rural communities to ensure they have the resources and opportunities to lift themselves from poverty. Clean water reduces disease and saves time. Education empowers young people to pursue their ambitions. Sustainable agriculture strengthens livelihoods and food security— together forming a foundation for healthier, more resilient communities.
In Malawi, The Sonder Project currently implements two of these programs— Water Is Our Right and Education Is Power. To assess their reach and effectiveness, we commissioned Three Stones International to conduct an independent Impact Evaluation in 2025. The findings affirm what we have witnessed first-hand: when access to water and education are addressed together, transformation follows.
The evaluation documents communities where women and girls now walk minutes instead of hours for clean water, where students who once risked dropping out are excelling, and where families are building a brighter future with pride and dignity. It confirms that sustainability is a defining feature of this work— rooted in partnership, where communities maintain wells, schools foster mentorship, and students grow into leaders determined to give back.
While this study focuses on Malawi, it also reinforces the strength of our broader Theory of Change— including our Planting Opportunity initiative in Burkina Faso, where solarpowered irrigation is expanding food security and income generation. The evaluation notes that in several Malawian water communities, small gardens are already taking shape— a natural next step reflecting the initiative of local families and pointing toward deeper integration of sustainable agriculture.
As we mark ten years of The Sonder Project, we are humbled by how far we’ ve come— and motivated by how much there is still to do. We extend our gratitude to Three Stones International for their partnership, to our teams in Malawi and Burkina Faso for their leadership, to our supporters worldwide whose generosity makes this work possible, and above all, to the communities whose trust and determination continue to inspire us every day.
Education is Power. Water is Our Right. Planting Opportunity is the Future. Together, they are transforming lives— and building a foundation for the next decade of impact.
Chad Zibelman CEO, The Sonder Project
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