What are basic needs?

The term ‘basic needs’ refers to what human beings actually need in order to survive. When identifying the basic needs of human beings, some refer to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs which lays out human needs in a tiered structure. The foundation of the tier consists of air, water, food, and shelter - all nonnegotiable for human life. After a person has secured consistent access to these four essentials, they can pursue other things like health, friendship, community, and more.

While our focus remains on education, we cannot ignore that there are fundamental basic needs that need to be met before anyone can thrive in the classroom. We recognize the need to invest in infrastructures like clean water, sanitation, and safe classrooms, but we are moving forward with a critical awareness that these projects will only be truly successful if the communities are equally invested in the success of the project.

That is why we are focusing a major portion of our fundraising efforts on investing in community-based social enterprises, where everyone involved is a shareholder and the profits are shared to meet basic needs. Some of our social enterprises include a community network of farmers who are increasing yields by using low-till plows and oxen, a fresh-water well that provides a nearby source of clean drinking water to community members who pay a below market rate, a tool library where the community members can rent needed tools, and a school bus that doubles as a taxi service.

The added income these businesses generate for our partner schools will allow them to slowly reduce their reliance on school tuition, while ultimately being financially independent enough to offer some of the first free education in the country.