“Paying it Forward” in a Developing Country
TeachOverseas inspires individuals worldwide to personally make a difference
By Sabrina Wong
This month, TeachOverseas.org launched an ambitious fundraising campaign to benefit the underprivileged in developing countries. Here's the concept: An online donation of $10 goes directly to a student in a developing country responsible for “passing it on” to help someone.
This student reports to an American teacher with a heart for social transformation. Since this is a graded homework assignment, the students are motivated to find a meaningful way to give the money away.
A TeachOverseas teacher named Jon Axtell tried this social experiment two years ago in Bengbu , China. Jon gave students money out of his own pocket and the results were amazing!
Some students pooled their money together to pay for medical operations. Some students visited local orphanages for the first time. Other students visited senior citizen homes in remote locations. The amazing thing is, after classes are over, students kept on giving!
You see, social justice is a foreign concept in countries such as China , Russia , Hungary and Vietnam . Most people are completely unaware of the needs in their communities. Through this project, these students got hooked on helping others!
These young people are the future leaders of their countries. The potential of "Paying it Forward" is tremendous. Not only are individuals helped, but students are also learning about their responsibility to help the underprivileged in their communities.
Unfortunately, not every teacher can afford to give money out of their own modest salary. So, in response to a Challenge Grant hosted by Facebook and the Case Foundation, TeachOverseas decided to raise funds specifically to give away (http://apps.facebook.com/causes/view_cause/47752).
The second day of the Challenge Grant, TeachOverseas came in second place for a $1000 daily prize for the Facebook Cause with the most donors. Currently, TeachOverseas is in line for a $10,000 prize. But, the Challenge ends February 1. So, donors are still very much needed to keep that position.
TeachOverseas is a Christian non-profit that sends out over 250 North American teachers each year. These teachers impact thousands of students in China, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Russia, Slovakia and Vietnam. (For more information visit: http://www.TeachOverseas.org.)