“If it takes a village to educate a child, it takes a school to educate a generation.”
Eighteen years ago, United World Schools USA (UWS USA) set out with a goal that was simple to define but difficult to achieve: to end education poverty for children living in some of the world’s most remote and underserved communities, because a child’s potential should never be determined by where they are born.
This conviction drove UWS USA to seek out the “impossible last mile” communities that others struggled to reach. One child at a time, the organization witnessed how access to education began to transform lives, and how its vision steadily became a reality.
But UWS USA aspired to do more.
After years of dedicated effort, the organization began introducing new programs that advanced its core mission of education development, including hygiene stations, food provision, and initiatives focused on girls’ education. These efforts positioned schools not only as places of learning, but also as catalysts for stronger, healthier, and more resilient communities.
Today, UWS USA has introduced its Education PLUS model (Partnership, Learning, Upskilling, and Scale). Through this approach, the organization partners with governments and local communities to strengthen teaching quality, leadership, and community engagement across clusters of schools. This model enables improvements to spread throughout entire local systems while supporting communities in building sustainable long term growth.
The results have been transformative. This was especially evident in Cambodia, where UWS USA met one of its students, Muny, a ten year old who shared:
“We attend monthly Girls’ Club Meetings where we learn about children’s rights, especially girls’ rights; how to recognize harm, and how to report it properly. These activities have helped me to understand my rights better, and how I can protect myself and others. I’ve noticed that boys now respect girls much more, and teachers also pay more attention to our wellbeing. This is making the school feel safe and enjoyable.”
For UWS USA, educating girls delivers some of the highest returns in global development. Addressing challenges such as gender based violence, period poverty, and child marriage through gender transformative education has become one of the organization’s most impactful achievements.
Today, the broader UWS network operates extensively across Cambodia, Madagascar, Myanmar, and Nepal. Through sustained dedication, more than 330 schools have been established, over 90,000 students have been directly reached, and more than 1,900 teachers have been trained in child centered and inclusive teaching practices.
These accomplishments have been made possible through a strong and enduring network of partners and allies across both the public and private sectors. By actively engaging parents and local leaders in the educational journey, UWS USA has helped foster meaningful participation, capacity building, and long term shared ownership within communities.
Looking ahead, UWS USA is more ambitious than ever, with a goal of reaching 270,000 children by 2030. It is another “impossible” task, but embracing such challenges has always defined the organization’s mission.
At the heart of this work is a shared belief among countless individuals who have joined the journey, a belief in the power of education to unlock imagination, opportunity, and hope in every child.
As the school day ends in Cambodia, it is just beginning in Madagascar, a powerful reminder that the mission of UWS USA never stops: to teach children to read, write, count, and dream.
*Muny’s name was changed in line with UWS-US’s child protection and safeguarding policies.
