How Agents of Change works
Donations to Agents of Change allow families to stretch beyond reducing poverty in their own lives to leading and transforming the communities in which they live and work. Here’s how it works:
- 1. Together, groups of parents of Unbound sponsored members, often the mothers, identify the community problem they’d like to solve.
- 2. They craft a proposal that is vetted by committees of community members for access to a small grant, typically of about $500.
- 3. They receive the grant funds and then work together to put their plan into action.
From handwashing stations to soccer fields to roads, more than 1,000 Agents of Change initiatives have been completed worldwide, addressing the unique needs of local groups. The result? Safer, healthier and more productive communities like the ones who benefited from these initiatives:
Playground, Kenya
In Nairobi, a parent support group installed a playground for children at the PCEA Timau Primary School using an Agents of Change grant. The group applied for funds after they discovered the importance of play to a young learner’s development, and that most parents in the community couldn’t afford to pay park fees to take their children to a playground.
Basketball court, Dominican Republic
Three mothers of Unbound sponsored friends scored points with other local parents when they noticed the kids in their community were exposed to negative influences because they didn’t have a safe place to play and socialize after school. The mothers fixed up the community basketball court with an Agents of Change grant. Now local parents can worry less about where their kids will be after school.
Bridge and stairs, Philippines
Residents in this neighborhood in the Philippines had to walk up and down very steep and unstable steps that became slippery and treacherous when it rained. A group of parents applied for a grant, and less than a month later, they had completed their new bridge and stairway, providing safe passage to the whole community.
