VoLo Foundation believes in education and gender equity as antidotes to climate change. An investor in Project Alianza’s model since 2015, The Foundation has committed to cosponsoring the development of local women as community educators as the nonprofit continues to scale its impact.

The Foundation’s financial support has helped upskill 18 women for professional teaching careers as Educadoras, local women with high leadership potential who would otherwise be limited to informal sector employment work within their own local villages.

To honor the longstanding support of The Foundation, Project Alianza is naming the Community Educator Initiative, VoLando, which aptly translates to soaring in English.  Educadoras have collectively provided reading, health, and mentorship programs to  over 10,000 children in remote villages who face daunting odds just to get a basic education. They attend single-room schools with mud floors, often mixed in with students from other grades.

Educadoras teach children how to read using the Teach-at-the-Right-Level (TaRL) pedagogy, working alongside public school teachers and in after school programs. The well-studied TaRL approach tests students on the basics of literacy using simple tests and tools. Then students are grouped by level to participate in highly interactive learning circles using digital offline content and audio stories. TaRL is considered one of the most effective ways to accelerate children's learning.

Educadoras also provide girls in secondary school extra support so they can stay and succeed in school. These women, often from the same communities as the girls, conduct regular home visits, and involve the students in gender-equity camps. Starting in 2023, girls will begin entrepreneurship and financial literacy workshops.  Over 90% of girls receiving this support have stayed in school, an impressive outcome considering on average more than half of girls drop out of secondary school within the first two years.

Educadoras have led widespread public health campaigns during COVID and provide classes on environmental education, a program that is highly requested by local parents who rely on farming for their livelihoods.

The impact of the VoLando soars beyond the children in the classroom. More than half of the women trained as educadoras have completed or enrolled in college. Others have bought a home, learned to drive, and are pursuing professional certifications to become literacy specialists. Creating economic opportunities for women and girls in Latin America has global implications, too.

Vogel acknowledges that investing in professional opportunities within communities will help stem the flow of migrants risking their lives on the perilous journey to the U.S. to escape desperate and poor conditions. Vogel is a mother of six who believes in the power of nurturing others’ potential, “When you are a mother of one you are a mother of all and we need to grow together.”

By training women as educators, we not only improve literacy rates and prevent girls from dropping out of school, but we also create a ripple effect of knowledge and empowerment that helps entire generations soar.