By the time I graduate high school, I will receive over 14 years of education. The problem with this number is that 14 is not anywhere on the graph below.




This graph attempts to show the correlation between number of years of education and wealth. In some of these countries, the poorest 20% of people do not even receive one-third of the amount of education as those in the wealthiest 20%.

Particularly in Mali, the poorest people receive on average less than two years of education. What strikes me about Mali though is that the wealthiest 20% on average receives less than 6 years of education.

I think what makes me feel worse about looking at this graph is that I wasn’t sure where exactly Mali was on a map.

For those of you secretly and equally confused, Mali can be found here.



Perhaps my confusion about where Mali is located is a key sign that Givology is doing its job –and it’s doing it well. For the first time ever today, I looked up Mali on a map and thought wow, people are living there, just like they are living here.

Unfortunately, the conditions in Mali are much different than they are here, and that is also where Givology steps in. Givology is not just lending capital; rather, it’s sponsoring an education. This makes it highly unique in the online mircophilanthropy market place because it targets youth in any class of poor. Most microfinance organizations on the other hand, cream skim the poorer populations to ensure repayment on high interest loans.

Givology, on the other hand, attempts to fix this graph. And maybe, maybe it will not just improve geography skills, but broaden the way we think about the world.