Every once in awhile, The Upside would like to bring your attention to a cause that we know about, we are working with and that we strongly believe in and stand behind. This week we’re bringing you a school in Decatur, Georgia called The Global Village Project.

The Global Village Project is a nonprofit transitional school for refugee girls displaced by conflict around the world. Their mission is amazing. They take refugee girls who have had interrupted education and take them through a middle school program designed to fundamentally prepare them for American high school.

For three years, the girls are taught English (often starting from a Pre-K level), Math, Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, Music, Art and Health. They are taught life skills applicable to their new environment and these curriculua are adapted to each student depending on their level of comprehension. By the time they leave the school, the education they receive at GVP will help them hit the common core goals set by the state and continue their education almost as if it had never been interrupted.

And the great news is, is that it’s working.

From the GVP website:

PROGRAM OUTCOMES & IMPACT

• Since the 2009-10 school year, GVP’s school and mentoring program have provided more than 175 refugee girls with the educational foundation and support they need to succeed in high school and beyond.

• Over the last three years, GVP’s program has produced excellent academic outcomes for students. 90% of students gained at least 1.8 grade levels in reading and math during each 9-month school year they spend at GVP, as measured by several nationally validated assessment systems.

• 90% of alumnae who complete our program have graduated or are performing successfully in high school or college.

• In the 2016-17 school year, 15 GVP graduates are in college at Georgia Tech, Agnes Scott College, Berry College, and Georgia State University.

• 1 GVP alumna received the Sun Life Rising Star Scholarship in 2013.

• 1 GVP alumna was awarded the Gates Millennium Scholarship in 2016.

Most Americans (including us here at Allegory, before meeting the Folks at GVP) do not realize that Clarkston, GA is home to one of the largest refugee settlements in the country and before coming to the US, the majority of school age girls in the settlements had little to no formal education OR were forced, because of their circumstances to have great gaps in their time between schooling. Through their unflappable dedication to the education of these girls , GVP is giving them much needed agency in their new world and abroad. Pretty amazing stuff!

To learn more about how Allegory is helping GVP and how you can donate, CLICK HERE.