Mission

To provide sustainable, quality primary education for girls and boys in West Africa

Agenda

• Introducing Leaping Stone

• The state of education in Togo

• Bridging the gap

• Building a model of sustainability

• The community of Dedeke

• Long-term Goals

• What you can do to help

LeapingStoneLeapingStone is a US-based non-profit organization dedicated to

ensuring universal educational opportunities for the under-served children of West Africa.

• Builds and upgrades school buildings.• Supplies books and other required learning supplies.• Promotes entrepreneurial projects to use local skills and resources

in the service of sustaining educational facilities.• Refines aid model in cooperation with local communities to

mitigate risk and encourage community support and investment in sustainable education.

• Invests in community based programs one village at a time to reduce risk, ensure rigorous accountability and migrate program improvements “downstream”.

Phase One: TogoWith an emphasis on locally relevant program development, LeapingStone plans to begin village-level aid projects within Togo, eventually expanding our programs across Togo, refining our approach before branching out to address other west African communities.

Education in Togo

• Almost 1 in 5 primary school pupils are repeaters• Only 3 out of 4 reach grade 5 of the primary cycle• The level of repetition is markedly higher in Francophone countries • The Togo Ministry of Education and Research (MENR) has little control

over the running of the education system despite implementing a program, Support for the running of the Togolese education system (APSET) intended to meet the Dakar recommendations for universal basic schooling by 2015.1

• Teacher salaries supported by the Catholic Church, but communities receive no support for physical infrastructure

• 62% of population survives below poverty line• 76.5% of population over 25 have had no schooling• Average school termination age:

– Males 11 years– Females 7 years

Bridging the Gap

• Estimates suggest 70% of Togolese children spend at least 5 years in primary education

• Though poorly funded, education is held in high regard culturally in Togo

• Most of the smaller villages are in need of outside assistance in creating education facilities.

• Spending on educational material 0.2% GDP – Togo rated 28th out of 30 countries listed by UNESCO

• Literacy rates:– Males 70%– Females 44%

Building a Model of SustainabilityLeapingStone is committed to making a lasting difference in the

educational needs of children in west Africa. To that end, we are introducing a model of aid that we believe will provide a legacy of self-supporting educational support in perpetuity.

To achieve this, the LeapingStone model fosters the following:

• Entrepreneurship: LeapingStone is building a “suite” of revenue-generating programs that have proved to be successful in developing economies

• Relevance: We work in cooperation with the individual residents to ensure our programs are locally sustainable and culturally relevant

• Investment: We incorporate local communities in the decision-making process to ensure that the people we serve feel this is their project. Making sure they have a say -- as well as contributing time and labor -- fosters a culture of ownership and responsibility.

The Village of Dedeke

• Dedeke is located approximately 50 km from Lome.• The village is made up of approximately 70 families.• Their main occupation is subsistence farming.• There are 105 school-age children in the village. • The community has limited though inadequate facilities, often

having to conduct classes out of doors.• Dedeke has an established history of dedication to educating its

children and is a reasonably representative rural community in Togo making it an ideal candidate for successful program implementation.

Short Term Goals

• Ensure all school-age children in Dedeke are enrolled and attending the existing school.

• Determine which sustainability model will work for Dedeke.

• Replace roof on existing school.• Build new classrooms.• Dig well and create sanitary latrines.• Estimated program cost: $40,000

What Can You Do?

• Donate $$ – as little as $25 will send a child to school for a year.

• Volunteer – if you have time or a skill that we can use, we would love to know about it.

• Follow our progress - check in periodically at LeapingStone.org for news of our efforts in Dedeke and beyond.