Site LogoDonate

Our sustainable model

  1. Home
  3. Our sustainable model
girls
book

Our Sustainable Model

Too often, international development arrives in the form of short-term aid that withdraws before lasting change takes hold.

 

At So They Can, we challenge that model.

How our unique Sustainability Model sets us apart?

Our partnership with governments and local communities includes primary and secondary schools, and health facilities, and is a co-investment that prioritises capacity strengthening and progressive handover from external support from the outset.

Learn more about our unique approach in our 'Sustainability Model Executive Summary'.

'With focused sustainability planning, strategic partnership, and steadfast commitment, So They Can is on track to leave an indelible and catalytic legacy. As a vanguard of the global movement for inclusive education, So They Can has both the opportunity and obligation to continually push the boundaries of what is possible when communities are empowered as agents of their own change.' — Quote from Independent Evaluator, Tanzania Program Evaluation Report (2019-2024).

How we embed sustainability in our programs

writing
tanzania

Our Sustainability Model in schools

So They Can's Sustainability Model is embedded in public education systems in regions where education and development outcomes are lowest in Tanzania (Babati) and Kenya (Nakuru and Tanzania). In schools, this plays out across a 6-8 year development cycle: 

  • A Foundation Phase (Year 1) to establish the minimum learning environment
     
  • A Core Phase (Years 2-6) to deepen co-investment, build teacher capability and expand safe, inclusive infrastructure
     
  • A Sustained Phase (Years 7-8, plus five years of post-exit monitoring) when the School Management Committee, teachers and community assume full responsibility
Our Sustainability Model in health facilities

Our Sustainability Model in health facilities

So They Can's Sustainability Model also extends beyond schools. In rural communities in Kenya where access to quality primary healthcare is limited, So They Can works with selected government healthcare facilities to strengthen the delivery of essential health services as part of our Community Development Program. How our health partnership works:
 

  • Government of Kenya
    Holds overall responsibility for the facility, including coordination of healthcare services, provision of personnel and supplies, service standards, and Monitoring & Evaluation.
     
  • The Clinic
    Attends to the day-to-day needs of the community by providing curative and preventive primary healthcare services to its patients.
     
  • So They Can
    Provides targeted, time-bound support to supplement shortfalls in government supply, infrastructure improvements, and capacity building of the clinic's healthcare professionals. Medical camps are also conducted annually to reach remote community members.

Empowering communities

Hear from community members and leaders in Baringo County, Kenya, about the difference So They Can's Education and Community Development Programs are making in their region.

Baringo, Kenya, 2024

writing

Let’s end child poverty through education.

Donate today

Explore more

Why education?
Our Reports
Read our blog
Subscribe

Join our mailing list

Together we can be the difference. Subscribe to our newsletter today.

So They can - Logo - White
FacebookInstagramYoutubeLinkedin
Australian Aid

So They Can is accredited by the Australian department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), responsible for managing the Australian government’s development program. So They Can receives support through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).

Registered CharityRotary InternationalACFID Member
Privacy Policy|Contact Us

So They Can is a registered charity in Australia (ABN 91 138 063 475), New Zealand (CC # 45673), a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit in the USA (EIN 47-1079440), and a UK charity with the Registered Charity Number 1213084.