La educación es el arma más poderosa que podemos usar para cambiar el mundo

Nelson Mandela 

My name is Christopher Schafer and I moved to Bogota, Colombia 7 years ago to be part of my son’s life.  I have been giving private English classes for executives, at large multinational companies here, for over 6 years.  I have lived all this time in a poor neighborhood to be near my son.

Being from the United States it is very difficult, in some ways, living in a developing country. It is not just seeing poverty every day, but it is seeing poverty on such a large scale.

                                This photo is of an actual house on my block.

Whether it is the starving dogs in the streets or the terrible living conditions of the poor, it is difficult not to be sad and at the same time, feel angry at what I am witnessing.

Being from the U.S., the worst part for me is the seemingly deliberate lack of opportunities for the poor and less fortunate to improve their lives, which results in a sense of hopelessness for them. Colombia is actually the number one country in South America for income inequality, it seems like the rich and powerful people here actually try to keep the poor in their place, in order to have cheap labor for their homes and companies.

   In Colombia, like many other developing countries, the fastest and most affordable way out of poverty is to learn English to an (B2) Upper Intermediate level. To get a good job here your level of English is actually more important to employers than years of experience.

The more affluent people in Colombia understand this and send their children to Private Bilingual Schools or English Institutes. These private schools and Institutes are out of reach for the poor due to  high costs and their distance from the poorer areas of Bogota.

Speaking English can literally be the difference between a good future and a life of menial labor.

To solve this problem I have set up an English School here, in the poorer neighborhood where I live, in Bosa to give the less fortunate an opportunity for a better life.

By following a lean business model and doing all the work by myself, I am able to provide classes that are affordable to the less fortunate here. I have also developed a method that is very effective.  My teaching methods are exciting and faster paced than traditional methods of teaching English.

Unfortunately we have lost the school’s lease and I have been teaching classes out of my apartment for the last six months. In my tiny apartment I can only teach classes to a small number of students and now we need to move to a new and better location where it is possible to continue to provide English classes for poor students.

Please help break the viscous cycle of poverty by helping these people to help themselves. 

How you can help!

I understand that times are hard all over but please give what you can, even if it only a few dollars, and please share our project with all your friends and associates on social media and encourage their support. Check out the Indiegogo share tools and help us give a better future to the poor people of Colombia.

Thank you so much for your help!