Parents know it too. It is the first thing they ask for when we visit communities. They are willing to work for it and they are willing to make sacrifices to have one. Our communities not only provide the labor to build a school, they buy and donate the land for the school.

Even Mayors know it. It is not officially their responsibility to build schools, but they know what it means to their communities. So when we offer them the chance to partner with us in building a school -- to contribute 40%-50% of the construction costs -- even poor local communities jump at the chance!

We use our own architect and qualified supervision, and we make all the pricing and purchasing decisions to make sure every dollar goes into the school. We love this leverage -- it reduces our build costs to $10,000 for a bright, clean, well-lit and ventilated 3-classroom school, always the nicest building in the community.

Our strong model has attracted not only foundations and corporations, but adult children of teachers who dedicate a school in memory of their mother/teacher, parents and grandparents who dedicate a school as a graduation present for children and grandchildren, and groups of new and old classmates who dedicate a school as Alumnae of their college or university. If you are interested in donating or raising the funds to dedicate a school, please contact mkatecurran@thegivingproject.net.