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Professional and vocational educaiton of young boys, girls, men and women and their placement in the job force is a very effective method of combating poverty. This allows rural families who are landless labourers to escape poverty. Additionally, families that have very little land due to its division amongst siblings over the families are able to keep it, if some members of the family earn an income in the professional or vocational sector. By helping children to stay in school, succeed in national board exams, and eventually guiding them through to college and to a good professional or vocational job, minimal resource investment is able to generate exteremely high returns. |
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Through experience EATO has found that a strong partnership amongst the following players is critical in the success of a program: a) The team on the ground An excellent director who can forge relationships with various stake holders, and can manage development and execution of an education program, is critical to the success of the program. The director picks a small number of paid core team members who are able to deliver supplemental education on their own or with the help of unpaid volunteers. b) The partner on the ground Good support from the leader of the organization that lets the program use its buildings is very important in order for the program to be able to operate. c) The investors or donors The investors or donors provide the financial backing which allows for the ground team to be able to execute. EATO believes that the program gets on to a more solid ground if there are a large number of small investors/donors as compared to a few large investors/donors. d) The community members It is vital that the community is supportive of the effort. The director and community members, cooperatively come up with a set of milestones, based on local needs but focussed on a path to good jobs via professional or vocational education. |
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Resources Focussed on Milestones |
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In order to keep expenses low and also to be able to focus on the next milestone, it is critical that capital expenses are minimal. Construction or acquisition of facilities is time consuming, resource intensive and their maintenance is an ongoing distraction. EATO recommends forging a partnership with a local organization such as a school or community center who will lend use of their facilities during non-business hours. This allows the ground team to offer rigourous after school study help to the students in a clean and safe place. The ground team is able to focus on their core mission rather than dealing with real estate issues. Transportation is usually a challenge in rural areas as schools are not near by. Through experience EATO teams have found that use of Bicycles is much more cost efficient than use of vehicles which require expenses on gasoline. If vehicles must be used, it is not advised to own them as their maintenance becomes a distraction from the main goal of providing excellent supplemental education and helping children navigate through their respective education and career paths. |
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