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What do bodybuilding and educating children in Africa have in common?That would be Change Heroes founder Taylor Conroy – who started as a bodybuilder just a few short years ago, and has now dedicated his life to answering the question: What will it take to educate every child in the world?
Conroy's inspiration came from a short trip to Uganda and Kenya, where he saw first-hand the huge change that education can make in African children's lives – especially girls. As Conroy explained in this inspiring TED talk, when girls in developing countries receive an education, they get married an average of four years later, and when a child is born to a literate mother, it has a 50% higher chance of surviving past the age of five. On top of that, a girl's earning potential increases 20% for every year of education she receives.
After much brainstorming, Conroy came up with his magic formula: 33 friends get together, each gives $3.33 per day for three months, which adds up to $10,000 – enough to build a schoolhouse which will educate 50 children per year for over 20 years. The social enterprise and innovative fundraising platform takes care of everything - from community integration and teacher salaries to medical and women's programs and country-specific curriculums. Once a group of friends gets together, they can learn about the village where their school will be built, follow its progress, see photos of the school once it's completed, and then even visit the kids if they like.
We love how this original initiative utilizes social media, and empowers individuals to change the lives of a thousand kids - all for the cost of a cup of coffee a day.
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