Sarah Ford | June 2, 2014

Breaking the Cycle of Poverty Through Global Youth Education, Community Development, and Emergency Relief

Good Neighbors USA is an international humanitarian non-profit focusing on children’s education, community development, and emergency relief in more than 30 countries around the world. Our projects include building clean water wells in Africa, providing new cookstoves for families in Guatemala, and sponsoring tuition and health care for children in Chad, Malawi, Guatemala, and Nepal. Globally, we have over 2,000 professional staff and 20,000 volunteers–ranging from doctors and nurses to engineers and professors–supporting over 17 million people, including approximately 10 million children. Some highlights of our work include dispatching emergency relief teams to the Philippines after the 2013 typhoon, to Syria during the refugee crisis, to Japan after the 2011 tsunami, and to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake; building more than 200 water wells in Chad, Africa; and building schools, playgrounds, and libraries in Guatemala, Chad, and Malawi. We’re passionate about supporting communities as a whole, identifying what needs can be addressed first and how we can provide long-term solutions.  

Breaking the Cycle of Poverty 

We are all about providing access to education for everyone, especially children. To us, that’s the key to breaking the cycle of poverty, the foundation behind our impact, and what drives every project we create. We strategically build our water wells near schools so families are encouraged to settle in the area and send their children to school; our cookstoves project is energy-efficient and uses less firewood so kids can attend class instead of spending their days collecting wood; and our child sponsorship project covers tuition, books, meals, and healthcare for thousands of students in Chad, Malawi, Guatemala, and Nepal. We believe community development and genuine progress is rooted in education and the opportunities it opens. 

Students at a Good Neighbors pre-school in Loma Blanca, Guatemala

Make an Impact by Supporting Good Neighbors

There are so many ways to come change the world with us. Supporters can donate directly to our projects by visiting our website at www.goodneighbors.org, creating a fundraiser on www.crowdrise.com/goodneighbors to spread the word to friends and family, starting a Good Neighbors club at their high school or college, or by volunteering abroad with us in our current project country, Guatemala.

Here’s exactly what your donations could do:

  • $1: Send up to four bowls of food to a child in one of 18 countries.
  • $35/month: Support a child’s school tuition, books, meals, and medical care
  • $400: Provide a brand-new, energy-efficient cookstove for a family
  • $3,500: Build a clean water well in Chad, Africa
  • $5,200: Build a clean water well in Zambia, Africa
  • $8,750: Build a clean water well in Malawi, Africa

You can also volunteer abroad with us!

For $2,000, you can travel with Good Neighbors to Guatemala for a week and tour our community development sites, meet families, and personally build a cookstove donated in your name.

Corporate Partnerships and Pro Bono Services:

We are also always looking for corporate sponsors, community partnerships, and pro bono services to support our fundraising and marketing efforts. Some of our partnerships past and present include working with The Urgency Network, VICE Media’s Motherboard, artist Nick Walker, fashion designer Rebecca Taylor, Cherry On Top, and KoreAm Journal, among others. If you’d like to support us with pro bono services, some of our specific needs include non-profit consulting, web development, graphic design, and public relations.

Spread Awareness:

Lastly, supporting us on social media is one of the quickest ways you can help our cause grow. We’re always posting great photos, news, and updates so you can see us in action. Follow, like, and share along with us at:

Our thanks to Good Neighbors for helping us learn more about their work!  To learn more about their impact and to connect with them, visit www.goodneighbors.org.

Tweet: How @GoodNeighbors is Breaking the Cycle of Poverty Through Education, Community Development & Emergency Relief http://ctt.ec/tGksU+


With over 1.5 million nonprofit organizations in the United States, who should you support and why?  The purpose of this blog is to help you discover and connect with some of America’s most trusted 501(c)3 nonprofits, so you can become more informed and invest your support in charities that are making a significant impact and changing lives every day.

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