Gladwell Academy supports South African education through the Kwasa Foundation.
After successfully training thousands of established professionals all over the world, we figured it was time for Gladwell Academy to help those for whom education is a more troublesome affair. Luckily, we have Kwasa Foundation to show us how.
South Africa is a flourishing economy, especially compared to some other parts of Africa. Still, millions of South Africans struggle to put food on the table, let alone make it through college. Robert Verboon told us he founded Kwasa Foundation after meeting a South African woman who was facing difficulty, and was amazed at the difference a minor investment could make.
“I gave her 200 Euros as a loan. A genuine microcredit, and it worked wonders: eighteen months later she was able to pay me back with interest, having used the money to set up a small chicken farm. That’s when it hit me: helping someone else halfway across the world is actually very easy.”
Today, Kwasa Foundation are five volunteers in The Netherlands who work to raise funding. The results are divided among two South African organizations, with some forty projects between them.
“These projects are extremely local and often focus on a single individual. Help this person become a social worker; get that person through law school. We decided to focus our support on three areas where people have the most difficulty: microcredits, education and HIV/AIDS awareness (health care).”
Gladwell Academy resolved to support this most sincere organization with an initial gift, and we’re looking into more substantial collaborations. A first result so far has been the contribution of 1,350 Euros in the form of symbolic compensations for our keynote speakers during the recent RTE Summit 2018.
Robert continues: “The scale of our projects is so focused that such an amount can make a real difference. This donation is going to our education center in Mdumbi for example, where we provide education to all age groups: tutoring for school kids, courses for the elderly, scholarships for university students. With 1,350 Euros, we can keep a single teacher on staff for up to eight months.”