Giving Compass' Take:

• The Pollination Project discusses how it was able to use a $1,000 grant to revitalize The Jericho Primary School in Kenya with more classrooms, desks and other resources.

• This just goes to show how a little money can go a long way if used properly. Should all organizations focus on project-based spending?

• Are private schools the answer to struggling African education systems?

The median home price in the United States is $188,900, so $1,000 seemingly wouldn’t go too far to construct something in America, but in Kenya, a Pollination Project grantee leveraged a $1,000 grant to expand The Jericho Primary School.

Mwembe Mwanyonyo decided to fundraise to build three new classrooms, latrines, teachers lounge, and desks for the Jericho Primary School, a community school near Mpekatoni, Kenya. The previous structures built in 2011 had fallen apart due to the elements and poor construction, and 360 children were squeezed into barely functioning classrooms. With the help of Kelly Campbell and The Village Experience, Hannah Templeton and Salai Clinics, Kira Zalan and Awham Mohamed Ali, Mwembe raised enough funds to begin construction and so far, 75 percent of the necessary funds have been raised.

The grant from The Pollination Project will allow the community, which has been tirelessly working on the school to complete the project and for the children to begin learning in safe classrooms. It was enough for Mwembe and her colleagues to pour the cement floors for the building. The materials necessary for the school are sourced from the surrounding area and the labor is contracted locally. The parents are all volunteering one to two days a week, as available, to help with transport and construction as well.

While Mwembe used a $1,000 grant to build a physical structure, Debra Powell Wright and her group For Women Collective in Aldan, Pennsylvania is building a movement.

Read the full article about what can be built with a $1,000 seed grant by Charles Orgbon III from The Pollination Project at Medium.