Over the past 12 months, St Johns Rotary has led a "Global Grant Application" assisting club member Sam Lucas, a highly qualified engineer who has lived in Madagascar for two years, persuading five of the six NZ Rotary Districts to support Onja, a social enterprise in Madagascar and earn a RI Global Grant.
You will recall Sam presented the project to the Club as a guest speaker in early 2017 and became a member of the club shortly after.
Team leader, Simon Jones called Sam in the middle of his night on Wednesday last week, to tell him a Global Grant of US$101,006 had been approved by Rotary International to cover project costs for an entire year and bring 30 students to English fluency, prior to their specialising in computer programming languages the following year. (We now have to raise the equivalent amount to earn the necessary follow-up grant.)
Said an elated Sam, whose partner recently gave birth to their first child: “The application was a huge amount of work and required considerable thought, planning, and persistence. In the end it paid off, drawing substantial US$5,000 commitments from an amazing support base of 5 of 6 Rotary districts, surely an exceptional achievement, as well as our own club – NZ$5,000 and a further $5,000 through the Brian Gibbes Memorial Trust -- plus Newmarket Rotary Club with US$1,000.
“The swift approval from Rotary International was a further vote of confidence in the process which has seen us work with the Madagascar Education Ministry to refine a starting group of some 250,000 students down to the 30 most suitable to undergo English language and computer programming training.
“The real significance of the Onja project is that higher education in Madagascar is a privilege reserved for 5-percent of people who can afford it. Without opportunity, most top students dropout to work low-paying jobs, their talent wasted. The project presents a unique approach to utilise this untapped human talent.
“Onja assesses the very brightest students who can’t afford high school or university and identifies those with aptitude, motivation and potential to become great coders (computer programmers). Selected students will receive two years of English and coding instruction and later earn a life-changing salary developing software at a sustainable outsourcing enterprise. All profits generated by Onja will be used to upskill the next wave of students -- making the project swiftly self-funding, through each graduate funding an estimated 7 future students.
Onja with some adaptations and enhancements has the potential to spread large-scale opportunity in the world’s poorest countries and inside regenerate programmes in NZ.
Simon Jones CA has led the application along with Gary Key and Kevin Kevany, who form the international committee for the project. The Rotary Club of Antananarivo will host Onja.
Sam also wanted to thank Ainie Kwok, Peter Buchanan and Allan Smith as well as the wider club for their support.
Onja with some adaptations and enhancements has the potential to spread large-scale opportunity in the world’s poorest countries and inside regenerate programmes in NZ.
Simon Jones CA has led the application along with Gary Key and Kevin Kevany, who form the international committee for the project. The Rotary Club of Antananarivo will host Onja.
Sam also wanted to thank Ainie Kwok, Peter Buchanan and Allan Smith as well as the wider club for their support.
'Onja' literately means 'waves' in Malagasy.
• After one wave, another wave follows, just like at Onja where each student 'pays forward' the same opportunity for others in their community, making the project self-sustaining.
• Waves start small and grow over time, like Onja's gifted students who despite their disadvantaged backgrounds will receive a complete opportunity through education and employment to grow to their full potential.
• Like waves of the ocean Onja's model will connect continents, with graduates developing software for overseas clients.
• Waves are also important in technology and communications - essential for outsourcing and for Onja's model.
Naulette, a high achieving student, sits Onja’s exam which tests computer programming aptitude.
