KABEY FO PRIMARY SCHOOL, LITERACY PROGRAM & HEALTH CLINIC - LOKKAL TOKKRAST

AND THE "DEVON ESRICK EDUCATIONAL CENTER"

Kabey Fo, Niger is a small village located southeast of Niamey . It has a population of about 200 -- roughly 35 men, 55 women and 110 children. 77 of those children attend the Primary School that is supported by Educate Tomorrow.

In 2001, Co-Founder and Director of Educate Tomorrow, Virginia Emmons, while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer, sought the support of her family in the United States to help her village of Kabey Fo establish a primary school. Educate Tomorrow was founded in part as the means to continue to expand the educational opportunities in the area. This year, some of the first students graduated from the Kabey Fo School of Betterment.

Educate Tomorrow believes that the best long-term solution to ending poverty is education. We are committed to helping the region become self-sufficient by helping the local population to solve current and future problems that will improve their quality of life. Severely limited access to education is an enormous current problem, along with a lack of proper nutrition and meager health care. Additionally, the school schedule often conflicts with the children’s need to gather or work for the food necessary for survival. Educate Tomorrow is committed to meeting these challenges and to working with the local community and government to develop programs to provide nutritious meals and proper health care to every child attending school. These efforts not only improve the children’s potential for success but also reduce the burden on their families, so that their parents can allow and even encourage their children to obtain the education they so richly deserve.

Special thanks goes out to Devon Esrick and her father Steven Esrick, co-founders of Hope Through Education. With a donation of $21,000 the village of Kabey Fo was able to construct what is now a 4 classroom education centers, with latrines. The education quarters has been renamed, the Devon Esrick Education Center in honor of Devon, the 16 year old young woman who had the courage and determination to start a non profit. Devon was also the recipient of Educate Tomorrow's 2008 Inspiration in Service Award. The school is host to 6 grade levels, adult literacy classes and is used for village forums.