Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi has inspired many charitable organisations. Villages have existed in Switzerland and the UK which brought children from around the world to be educated. Those charities continue to operate but no longer provide direct residential programmes. Some of our most valued supporters and staff were educated by these organisations and continue to give back to others by championing the Pestalozzi World approach.
Pestalozzi World was established on the dual premise that it is more cost effective to educate children in or near their country of origin and that the benefits of their education would have greater impact on their communities and countries by doing so. Today we maintain a cost per child of around $2,500. For our supporters, this represents unparalleled value for money, given the wide ranging provision we offer, and the outstanding educational and career outcomes demonstrated by our monitoring.
90% of our Alumni reside in their country of origin, with 7% currently studying overseas. We are immensely proud of these statistics which indicate our programmes do not contribute to ‘brain drain’ – the loss of bright minds in the developing world to opportunities overseas
The Pestalozzi Overseas Children’s Trust – since renamed the Pestalozzi World Children’s Trust – was registered in 1995.
For several years prior to 1995, the founders of Pestalozzi Overseas Children’s Trust, Sir Richard and Lady Butler, had been responsible for the secondary level education of small numbers of Indian, Nepalese and Zambian students in good English medium schools in their own countries. These children were mainly the students who were no longer sponsored by the Pestalozzi UK Village when their remit changed to sponsoring only students who were over 16.
Sir Richard and Lady Butler had also helped the Thai alumni of the Pestalozzi Village UK set up the Thai Pestalozzi Foundation which was registered in 1990, in order to encourage them to take up the responsibility of helping children in their own country.
After the Pestalozzi Overseas Children’s Trust’s registration as a charity, in-country programmes of sponsoring Indian, Nepalese, Thai, Tibetan-in-exile, Zambian and Zimbabwean students took off.
Historical Programmes
Between 1995 and 1999, Pestalozzi World supported 50 Zimbabwean girls through the Cambridge Female Education Trust (CamFed).
Between 1995 and 2007, Pestalozzi World supported 109 Tibetan students at the Tibetan Children’s Village, Dharamsala in North India.
In 1998, Pestalozzi World funded a house accommodating 25 students.
Between 1995 and 2016 Pestalozzi World supported 79 students at one of Nepal’s leading English medium schools – Budhanilkantha School, Kathmandu. In 1996, Pestalozzi World organised a Pestalozzi Vocational Skills Training Centre to ensure theory was put into practice; the building for a Vocational Skills Training Workshop was added in 1999. The Centre remains active. Pestalozzi World also part-funded a hostel accommodating 124 girls which was completed in 1999.
Between 1995 and 2010, Pestalozzi World supported 38 Indian students at Gurukul Vidhya Vinaya Sabha, Maharashtra, India
Since 1997, Pestalozzi World has supported children at Shri Sita Ram Higher Secondary School, Uchchakot, Doti in Far West Nepal. The programme is due to end in 2025. There are currently 44 students and 132 alumni. Completed in 2004, Pestalozzi World also part-funded a hostel accommodating 40 girls. Owing to Pestalozzi World’s support, girls and the so-called ‘untouchable’ Dalit castes were able to stay in hostel accommodation for the first time, enabling them to focus on their studies rather than miss a lot of school to help at home and in the fields.
Between 1998 and 2007 the Kasisi Centre, Lusaka provided accommodation for over 200 girls who attended local government schools to the end of Class 9 and then completed their education to the end of Class 12 in their home villages. The exceptions to this rule were the 52 particularly bright girls who were selected from the Kasisi Centre to join the Kasisi Girls Secondary School. In 2007, children joined a temporary village at Leopards Hill and subsequently in 2009 when the accommodation was ready, moved to the Pestalozzi Village at Ibex Hill, Lusaka.
Since 2009, the Kasisi Centre has provided the first two years – Grades 5 and 6 – of accommodation and in-house schooling to the newly selected children (now both boys and girls) who then go on to the Pestalozzi Ibex Hill Village for Grades 7-12.
Between 2003 and 2011, Pestalozzi World sponsored 50 Malawian students at Kavuzi Community Day Secondary School or at Viphya Secondary School, both in Mzuzu, Malawi. Pestalozzi World funded the development of a plot of land at Kavuzi Community Day Secondary School into a substantial vegetable garden, cultivated by the students. Subsequent to this programme, Malawians were selected to join the Zambian Village.
The children sponsored under these programmes were drawn into the Pestalozzi World family through:
Changing to the current programmes
As Pestalozzi World became increasingly familiar with the countries in which it operated, it changed from supporting students to board at high quality local schools to its current Pestalozzi Village approach.
The residential care now offered better enables Pestalozzi World to provide a Pestalozzi heart-led Village ethos and a holistic Head, Heart and Hands extra-curricular education to all its children, focused on enabling them to reach their full potential while living happy lives, and motivating and equipping them to help both themselves and others.
The Pestalozzi Zambia Children’s Trust was founded in 2001 and is responsible for the Village in Zambia, the Ibex Hill part of which started in 2009
The Pestalozzi Children’s Village Society, Asia was founded in 2003 and is responsible for the Village in India, which had its first intake of children in 2004.
The Pestalozzi Children’s Trust, Malawi was founded in 2008 to support the programme in Malawi and the Malawians selected to join the Zambian Village.
The Nepal Pestalozzi Foundation
Originally named PAHAD (Pestalozzi Association Helping Advance Development), the Nepal Foundation was registered in 2000. The name PAHAD, meaning ‘hill’ in Nepalese, signified the Foundation’s mission to bring educational help to its marginalised rural communities.
Following the Thai Pestalozzi Foundation model, PAHAD, subsequently renamed the Nepal Pestalozzi Foundation, supported 56 day students in local schools throughout the country, part-funded by Pestalozzi World and part self-funded.
The Nepal Pestalozzi Foundation does not currently sponsor students. It now monitors the Nepal Village, Pokhara.
The Foundation Board is entirely comprised of Pestalozzi World Alumni.
The Thai Pestalozzi Foundation
The Thai Pestalozzi Foundation, registered in 1990, supports students to attend local secondary schools as day students. It also continues its support to the end of Bachelor level education.
To begin with, all the funds were provided by Pestalozzi World. The numbers supported directly by the Thai Foundation gradually increased until, in 2020, the foundation became entirely self-sufficient. Much of the credit for the success of the Thai Pestalozzi Foundation goes to the tireless voluntary work contributed by UK Village alumna Jantrawan Chongnoncee who sadly passed away in 2019.
The Thai Foundation aims to support 100 students at any one time and now has 280 graduates, 115 of them funded by Pestalozzi World and 167 by the Foundation.
Apart from the Chair, the Thai Foundation Board is entirely comprised of alumni of either the UK Village or of the Thai Pestalozzi Foundation.
Many of its alumni contribute to the costs of the Foundation.
Reunions
Since 1993 in Asia and since 2007 in Africa, large international reunions were held almost annually until 2020, with the addition of annual reunions for the US based Pestalozzi World Alumni since 2008.
These reunions enabled Alumni, volunteers, staff and trustees of the different Pestalozzi organisations to meet and:
The last of these large reunions were held at the beginning of 2020.
The pandemic led to online reunions, the great advantage of these being the number of participants who can be reached. More recently, physical reunions have resumed but, as it becomes easier for geographically distant participants to meet online and as Alumni numbers increase, there is a greater emphasis on small-scale local reunions which are held in any areas a number of Alumni live.
For further information on the history of Pestalozzi World, please refer to:
Pestalozzi World is a family of nonprofit organisations that provides exceptional children from some of the poorest communities in Africa and Asia a unique education that produces young adults capable of changing the world.
Pestalozzi World Children’s Trust, UK registered charity number 1172364 | Pestalozzi US Children’s Charity Inc., US registered E.I. Number 04-3407363 |Pestalozzi Overseas Children’s Foundation, Swiss registered charity number CH-020.7.001.633-9
Pestalozzi World Children’s Trust
F8 Worth Corner Business Centre
Turners Hill Road, Pound Hill
CRAWLEY
West Sussex
RH10 7SL
Pestalozzi World is a family of nonprofit organisations that provides exceptional children from some of the poorest communities in Africa and Asia a unique education that produces young adults capable of changing the world.
Pestalozzi World Children’s Trust, UK registered charity number 1172364 | Pestalozzi US Children’s Charity Inc., US registered E.I. Number 04-3407363 |Pestalozzi Overseas Children’s Foundation, Swiss registered charity number CH-020.7.001.633-9
Pestalozzi World UK
Unit A6 Worth Corner Business Park
Crawley
RH10 7SL
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Gifts collected by our UK and USA charities can be directed to any of our international partners. Contact Suzanne Davis suzanne@pestalozziworld.com to provide us with your preference.
