WE DID IT! Thanks to the efforts of our incredible volunteers and supporters, OWC successfully raised the $14,000 we needed to fund the construction of a library for the Twins Bright school in Kenya. We hand the mic to OWC's new student ambassador, Paige Bissue, who wants to thank you all for your support as we celebrate OWC's 15th Anniversary!
Read MoreIt's officially Open World Cause's 15th Anniversary! We start today by turning to 8th Grade volunteers Ella and Malichi, who created a video together about why they joined the Kenya Read project. Ella and Malichi were instrumental to bringing the $14,000 Kenya Read project to the finish line, and we could not be prouder of the work they have done for Kenya Read.
Read MoreDay 14 covers the legacy of the Kenya Read Project. Last year, students at Horizon Middle School became interested in the work Paige and Quinn were doing to bring a library to the Twins Bright school in Kenya. After having a call with Paige, 7th grade students at Horizon took on the project and made it a schoolwide effort in their building.
Read MoreOn Day 13, OWC starts the day by handing the mic to Quinn. Quinn was one of the co-founders of the Kenya Read project alongside Paige when they were in 8th grade. Quinn wants to thank everyone for their support and asks for one final push to get over the finish line. After your incredible contributions this week, OWC is now just $289 away from completing Kenya Read's $14,000 project to fund the construction of a library for the Twins Bright school in Kenya. We would be honored to have your support!
Read MoreFor Day 12, OWC has a very special message from Swachalika Panthy. In here, Swachalika talks about how she helped coordinate the Days for Girls program in Narayanpur, Nepal and the impact that your support had for the women in the Narayanpur community.
Read MoreDay 11 takes us to the start of the Kenya Read project! On the first day of school in Fall 2022, Paige and Quinn learned about the history of OWC. They were inspired by Amelia and Christina's 2017 project to save the HIPAfrica school in Kenya and the 3D design work from Eric Crouch's 5th grade classroom to raise money for the campaign.
Read MoreDay 10 of OWC's 15 Years in 15 Days covers what we believe to be our most ambitious accomplishment in our history. In 2019, OWC found that the women of Narayanpur, Nepal had interest in bringing women's health education programs to their community. In response, Professor Collum worked with Sarita Tamalsina, as well Sudha and Swachalika Panthy…
Read MoreFor Day 9 of OWC's 15 Years in 15 Days campaign, we hand the mic to Kaleb Cervantes and Erika Taylor. In 2018, Erika co-founded Crossing World Barriers as a 7th grade student in Colorado. After speaking with teachers in Nepal, Erika worked creating videos where she read and illustrated children's books in the public domain that students in Nepal could listen to as they practiced their English on their classroom iPads.
Read MoreDay 8 of OWC's 15 Years in 15 Days campaign takes us to 2020, our 10 year anniversary. This year was admittedly a difficult one for OWC. We had 3 major initiatives planned with our partnered communities to start the year, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all 3 were cancelled.
Read MoreFor Day 7 of OWC's 15 Years in 15 Days, we look at our work from 2017-2019, where we transitioned to a professional organization. For OWC's 2017 and 2019 trips to Kenya and Nepal (respectively), we were led by Professor Melissa Collum. Professor Collum brought us invaluable experience with her work with the U.N. and the National Council of the Social Studies.
Read MoreFor Day 6 of OWC’s 15 years in 15 days campaign, we hand the mic to Christina Strahan, who co-launched the Kenya Help campaign as a sixth grade student in Monument, Colorado. Christina’s efforts started an incredible international effort to raise $16,000 to save the HIPAfrica school in Kenya.
Read MoreDay 5 of OWC’s 15 years in 15 days campaign takes us to 2016, where Livingstone Kegode and Fredrick Manzugu at the HIPAfrica school in Kenya told OWC that HIP was facing closure due to changes in Kenya’s educational zoning policies. As a first year teacher, I shared this challenge with my students, and my 6th graders Amelia and Christina responded by starting the Kenya Help project to fundraise the construction of new classrooms that would save HIP.
Read MoreDay 4: 2015. After OWC helped fund the first round of construction on the Tri Ka school with Belgian organizations Nanri and Edukado, we hit an unexpected hurdle. The new school buildings could serve 75 students, but only 24 were attending the school. OWC had raised $16,000 to fund the construction of additional classrooms, but were stuck, as we weren’t sure if more students would attend Tri Ka. We decided travel to Nepal with four primary goals:
Read MoreFor Day 3 of OWC's 15 years in 15 days campaign, we go to 2013, after monsoon season wiped out two classrooms at the SAV school in Nepal. In response, 6th graders Nathan, Bailey, and Makayla from Kim Herron's classroom in Inman, Kansas had a video call with Govinda and Sudha's students at the SAV School. Mrs. Herron's students created 3D designs and 3D prints of the SAV students' dream schools,
Read MoreFor Day 2 of OWC's 15 years in 15 days campaign, here is the KAKE News' Broadcast about the founding of the Open World Cause 15 years ago. This broadcast caused a surge of donations that funded two laptops, internet access, and furnished a library for the SAV School in Nepal.
Read MoreBy Chief of Operations Ben Honeycutt
I co-founded Open World Cause (OWC) as a high school senior who wanted to raise money to get a library constructed that had laptops and internet access for a school in Nepal.
It makes me so proud to see one of my former students, Paige, kickstart an effort today to raise the last $1,500 OWC needs to fund the construction of a library for the Twinsbright School in Kenya.
Read MoreBecome a partner with Open World Cause as we work with the Twins Bright school in Kenya to fund the construction of a library for their students. Monthly donors who donate at least $10 a month will receive a 3D printed ornament or keychain designed by Paige sent to them by the end of the year.
Read MoreHey, everyone. This is Ben Honeycutt.
I was 17 on the day that Open World Cause started, and I never could have predicted that my life was about to change forever. Because that day I met Govinda Panthy on an educational website called ArtSnacks, and he told me about how he ran the SAV School, an elementary school with his wife, Sudha. Together, they shared their dream to bring a library to their students, and I knew I wanted to be a part of making that dream a reality.
Our educator friends Josh and Chloe from Colorado volunteered at the Tri Ka school! The teachers at Tri Ka asked Josh to paint multiple murals and a "How tall are you?" ruler in front of a classroom, and work on art lessons with students. Chloe set up ELA (English Language Arts) professional development sessions with Josh at the request of Tri Ka's teachers and assisted with side projects along the way.
"[Volunteering at] Tri Ka was the experience of a lifetime,” said Josh.
We are three students from Woodland Park School District, and we had a dream to bring a library to the Twinsbright school in Kenya. We have made some awesome 3d prints and are selling other cool items to help raise money for this project..
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