Global Pathways School is one school in one country, but its impact extends well beyond the borders of the campus. Every day, the school touches the lives of the broader community, as well as donors, volunteers and staff. 

What makes communities like GPS thrive? 

Canadian business academic and author Henry Mintzberg and colleague Guilherme Azevedo believe it’s collective engagement in a common cause. In their article Fostering “Why not?” social initiatives – beyond business and governments, they argue that communities are not "solving the world’s problems so much as their own common ones, later to discover that their own problems are the world’s problems."

Student success is the common cause that brings the GPS community together. Our students' success is tied to our belief in transforming a better world through child empowerment. When young people thrive, societies are healthier. Youth grow into adults with improved quality of life, and along the way, inspire others to follow in their footsteps. 

Teresa, a member of GPS staff, has seen enormous growth since she moved to the community and began working at GPS seven years ago. 

“The community struggled a lot financially, and after GPS came here, one by one people started getting a job as a caretaker. Then the students started to get an education, and the community started developing, and everybody started feeling that we have to bring up the society well. Everyone has to get a good job. We got an idea of what life is.” 

Teresa represents the core of GPS: an environment that brings people together, inspires change, and ignites purpose. It is where students, through their growth and success, create a path forward.

Our community includes a network of international donors, volunteers and staff who care about student success and work together to help grow and sustain the school. 

In 2018, GPS Intern and Loran Scholar Umaiyahl experienced firsthand how the community rallies around children, and was inspired to contribute on a long-term basis. 

“This community is so generous, trusting, kind, and knowledgeable that the opportunity to learn from and serve them struck me so much I went back as a summer camp counselor in 2019.” 

The GPS community is rooted in supportive care because that is where children learn best. Our international community contributes to this by participating in an exchange of ideas, widening the GPS network, and developing the opportunities available for students to thrive. They are essential in sustaining GPS as the heart of a community where people support and learn from each other, helping families along the path out of poverty.

GPS, as just one school, continues to tackle poverty by pushing the boundaries of what role a school can play in driving community change. 

Dr. Samir Gupta, VCF Director of Health Programs and Board Member, shared “the wellness of the child directly impacts the health and wellness of the community. The parents are learning from their kids and we see improvement in health for the entire community; it permeates upwards through the kids.” 

Our community thrives because we are ignited in purpose within our community. We are oriented around child well-being in all areas: academically, socially, emotionally, and physically. 

When children learn and develop, so do their families, and the whole community benefits. From a community that struggled to find opportunity, the community now has opportunity built into its fabric, and through that, people are taking essential steps out of poverty.