With the globalization of the economy and the state of the world, it has become clear that we must not only look beyond our own borders but act as well. Countless instances from Rwanda and Darfur to Afghanistan and Iraq, have shown how poor economic and political conditions can breed violence, terrorism, corruption and general instability. Additionally, poverty leads to the rampant spread of diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, and others. The continuing spread of these diseases pose a global health risk which we cannot ignore.
KnowledgeBeat believes in addressing the root causes of poor economic and political conditions rather than the aftermath of what they produce. To that end we believe education is paramount. Improving educational opportunities will drive economic and political improvements by empowering people to understand, create and institute changes that will improve global quality of life, leading to political, economic and social stability.
We have chosen to focus our initial efforts on Zambia because despite being one of the poorest countries in Africa, it has avoided political and ethnic violence and has shown a strong internal propensity to emerge as a leader both economically and socially. Zambia houses an abundance of natural resources, including the largest reserves of freshwater in all of Africa. The government has taken massive strides to improve infrastructure through the development of roads and telecommunications in the last decade. We believe that Zambia is at an inflection point and that investments in the education sector will contribute significantly to improvements in social and economic conditions.
We took great care in selecting our four primary programs to ensure that they address important areas of need in the Zambian education system. We are constantly evaluating and considering improvements and additions to these programs both internally and through partnerships. For additional information on our programs and why they were selected please see Model.
