Educate for Life

Educate for Life is an international non-governmental organisation created to improve the lives of people in impoverished communities in economically developing countries. Founded in the United Kingdom in 2005, it is currently focusing on a project in Bakhel, India, with plans to spread to other locations in future years.

History

Educate for Life was founded by Edward Forrest and Ash Patel, both students at University College London. Having spent some time travelling together, they realised that they shared the common dream of building a school in India to provide the community with both a focal point and a generation of children equipped with the education required to make whatever they wanted of their lives. In May 2005, this dream became Educate for Life.

Work has already begun designing the first school and its syllabus, along with numerous fundraising activities. From there, Educate for life plans both to spread to other areas of the world, building schools across the continents of Asia and Africa, and also to continue to build in areas that already have school and provide basic healthcare centres and other essential amenities.

Funding

Educate for Life is currently funded entirely by individual contributions. As a young charity, it is currently relying on a small number of donors to fund modest targets. It has engaged in a number of fundraising activities, mostly spread through word of mouth and through the website. In the future, it aims to attract partnerships with large companies which will be mutually beneficial. It is an important facet of Educate for Life that it doesn't have a negative effect on anyone it is involved with, so it hopes that in the future it will not have to rely on donations and contributions, and especially not unwarranted corporate funding. It hopes that everyone who does something for Educate for Life will have the favour returned.

Aims

Educate for life aims to begin a process of long-term improvement in the standard of life enjoyed by the communities it is involved with. It aims to do this by providing a basic education for all children in these areas and by eradicating the reasons for which many children either miss school or are not allowed to go, such as the need to earn money for the family. With this education it is hoped that the next generation will be more able to help themselves and the next generation even more so.

It also hopes to improve healthcare in the affected areas, providing a source of food and water at the school for the children as well as, eventually, satellite healthcare centres.

The aims of Educate for Life are very much community-based, working on the idea that going straight to the people affected by the problems in their countries will eventually empower them to change their fate themselves.

Another important part of the work Educate for Life does is to avoid reliance on unsustainable energy sources. Everything it builds is designed to rely as much as possible on the renewable resources of the area and to cultivate the crops of the local area within the grounds in order to avoid the need to import expensive foods from other areas of the world. Carbon neutrality is also a major aim.

External links

* [http://www.educateforlife.org.uk Educate for Life official Website]