I recently interviewed David Kebo, the president of Cercle Social, a Givology partner dedicated to improving education in Benin.
[img]http://www.givology.org/images/user/2297_6116833460206305045.jpg[/img]
[b]1. [i]Why did you start Cercle Social - what was your inspiration?[/i][/b]
Cercle Social USA was initiated in October 2010 in Saint Louis, Missouri with the collaboration of young Benin citizens. The organization started as a group of young people who shared the desire to take action for the development of their country by improving the quality of education. After interacting with other fellows living in the United States and abroad, the group came to realize that many others shared the same interest and were willing to join the cause. The idea of ‘Cercle’ came from there. Cercle means Circle in French and describes the community of people acting as one for the same cause. Cercle Social USA started its first activities in Benin in November 2010.
[b][i]2. How do you measure your impact?[/i][/b]
Cercle Social covers the school tuition and fees for disadvantaged students in the high school of Tori Agouako in Benin. The scholarship recipients are girls and boys in middle school and high school.
- A scholarship program covers the school fees and tuition of students from low-income families, girls and orphans. As of May 2013, Cercle Social has assisted 28 students financially, from 6th grade to 11th grade.
- A sponsorship program matches students to sponsors from all over the world. These sponsors provide students with financial assistance, clothing, food, books, school supplies, uniforms etc. to improve the students’ living condition. As of May 2013, Cercle Social has matched and sponsored 23 students, with 18 sponsors.
- The most recent project is a computer lab funded by AllPeopleBeHappy Foundation in 2012. The computer lab provides students with basics of computer. As of May 2013 Cercle Social has trained a total of 203 students, from in 11th grade. ([i]Computer training for the high school of Tori Agou: [url=http://www.givology.org/~ctfthsotagouako/]http://www.givology.org/~ctfthsotagouako/[/url][/i])
[b][i]3. What makes Cercle Social different from other organizations in your area?[/i][/b]
Cercle Social is an international organization with workers in the United States, Canada, France, and Benin. We are always expanding to other countries to strengthen the diversity of our workforce. The valuable input from people with diverse backgrounds and cultures is what makes Cercle Social such a reputable organization today.
[b][i]4. In starting Cercle Social, what was the best lesson you learned?[/i][/b]
We learned more about encouraging sustainability of all our projects especially in schools.
[b][i]5. What's the greatest challenge that your organization faces today?[/i][/b]
As many other nonprofits, funding is what keeps us moving forward. We are always seeking new grants to fund projects.
[b][i]6. Five years from now, where do you envision your organization? What legacy do you want to leave?[/i][/b]
Cercle Social provides assistance to students from low-income families with an emphasis on girls, orphans and disabled children. Five years from now we would like to work with more than 10 schools in Benin. Our goal is to improve infrastructures in schools all over the country and lower the dropout rate in these schools by at least 50%. We also want to facilitate access to jobs for students by providing them with computer skills while in school.
[b][i]7. On a personal level, what does giving mean to you?[/i][/b]
Giving is receiving. I am confident that all the students we are assisting will succeed and help their peers.
[b][i]8. Have advances in educational technology affected the work of your organization? If so, how?[/i][/b]
We are introducing a new and unique approach to reinforce the efficiency of our computer training in schools. We are now targeting a mini PC called Raspberry Pi ([i]The Raspberry Pi Project: [/i][url=http://www.givology.org/~trpproject1/][i]http://www.givology.org/~trpproject1/[/i][/url]), to gradually replace the traditional Desktop PC for our upcoming labs. The Raspberry Pi is a miniature sized computer released in February 2012. It is a capable little PC running Linux which can be used for many of the things that a regular desktop PC does, like spreadsheets, word processing and programming. It has been designed primarily for kids all over the world to learn programming. The Raspberry Pi costs 35$ and is a great fit for environments like rural areas with less reliable electrical power.
[i]Givology is currently helping fund 10 of Cercle Social's students and projects including The Raspberry Pi Project mentioned in the interview. Visit their Givology page ([/i][url=http://www.givology.org/~csocial/]http://www.givology.org/~csocial/[/url])[i]![/i]
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28 AUG 2013