United World Schools

United World Schools (UWS) is a UK registered charity that aims to 'teach the unreached' by building and developing community schools for out-of-school children in South East Asia. The charity operates schools in Cambodia[2][3][4] Myanmar (Burma),[5] and Nepal.

United World Schools
AbbreviationUWS
FormationMay 12, 2009
FounderChris Howarth[1]
Legal statusCharitable organization
PurposeEducation
HeadquartersLondon
Region served
Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal
CEO
Tim Howarth[1]
Chairman
Peter Taylor
Board Trustees
Chris Outram, Debbie Ball, Fergus Brownlee, Gareth Weir, Janet Morris, Jean-Paul Rigaudeau, John Siebert, Matthew Lester, Nigel Cumberland, Nirmala Rao, Peter De Wit, Ronald Graham, Stuart Fletcher and Vicky Unwin
Websitewww.unitedworldschools.org

United World Schools have an education model whereby they partner with national governments and local communities to build schools, and also to build capacity locally so that each school can transition into government hands within seven years.

The charity also twins some of the community schools it develops with other schools in more affluent parts of the world. These schools help fund the UWS schools.[2][3][6] and use the school partnership in curriculum areas such as global citizenship and International Baccalaureate studies. Some schools also provide volunteers for the schools and visit their UWS School. Schools are also funded by donations from individuals[1][7][8] and organisations.[9][10]

To date, United World Schools has opened a total of 250 new schools, trained over 1,200 teachers and given educational opportunities to more than 43,000[11][12] previously out-of-school children across Cambodia, Myanmar and Nepal.

United World Schools regularly receives recognition and awards for its work.[11][13][14]

Vision and Mission

United World Schools' mission is to improve, through education, life opportunities for some of the world's poorest children living in remote and marginalised communities.

The charity's vision is for a world in which every child has the opportunity to have an inclusive, accessible and high-quality education; regardless of race, gender, disability or the location they happen to be born.

History

Chris Howarth, together with his family, founded UWS in 2008 after working as a volunteer teacher in Cambodia with VSO. While in Cambodia, Chris saw a need and opportunity to work with the under-resourced local authorities of Ratanakiri, NE Cambodia. Working with Cambodian volunteer Nan Sitha, Chris’s daughter Anna Smuts, and colleagues from Portsmouth Grammar and Guildford Grammar school,[15] UWS ran community engagement projects to connect the schools, uniting young people from the UK and Cambodia.

The first UWS school opened in Kong Nork School, Vernsai, Ratanakiri in 2008 and educates more than 250 ethnic minority students. Since then, the charity has expanded its operations to more remote and marginalised areas of Cambodia, as well as parts of Myanmar and Nepal, reaching over 43,000 children across all three countries.

UWS was founded in 2008 and was registered with the Charity Commission of England and Wales in May 2009.[16]

In 2020, United World Schools launched UWS USA Inc, a 501(c)3 registered organisation, to develop their supporter base and organisational capacity in the United States.

UWS are working towards their next objective to reach a total of 250,000 out of school children by 2030.

Countries operating

References
  1. "Cyclists raise £18,000 for charity with 100-mile ride around Chichester district".
  2. "Cream pies whip up support for children's charity". Canberra Times. September 9, 2014.
  3. "British School runners hit historic Nakasendo trade trail". The Japan Times. Jun 29, 2014.
  4. "Headteacher is off to Cambodia on charity mission". Hinckley Times. January 4, 2014. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  5. Aung, Ywet Wai. "The financial and Technical States of Community Schools in Myanmar and Thai-Myanmar (Page 31)" (PDF). Faculty of Education, Masaryk University.
  6. Nassif, Aline (23 May 2012). "Dancers raise thousands". Portsmouth News. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  7. "Video: Teen bikes across Canada for United World Schools". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  8. "Grade 10 Student Cycling Across Canada". Breakfast Television Vancouver. 29 June 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  9. "This sustainable skincare brand is funding education for under-privileged kids with every single purchase". 19 November 2019.
  10. "Grant towards construction of a village school in Cambodia". BRITISH & FOREIGN SCHOOL SOCIETY. BFSS. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  11. "Nepalese, UK groups win UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize". 9 September 2020.
  12. "United World Schools".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. "Presentation of King Sejong Literacy Prize to United World Schools Myanmar". 14 September 2020.
  14. "Fourth annual PIEoneer Awards winners revealed in online ceremony".
  15. "How a Surrey school is preparing students for an uncertain future - Surrey Live". 12 September 2019.
  16. "Charity Commission Registration". Charity Commission (UK). Retrieved 10 March 2015.
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