Southeast Asia Strategic
Training & Relief Grant

Full Grant Proposal Under Development - PDF File

Executive Summary

The catastrophic 9.0 earthquake and resulting tsunamis that killed 275,000 people, made millions homeless, and caused billions in economic loss only aggravated what was already a desperate existence for the people of South Asia.

The International Education Institute, the Treasure Valley Reading Foundation, and the Spicy English Language Institutes of Thailand have teamed up to address the short- and long-term needs to restore and improve the economy. Our project will help the poor people in the region to pick up the pieces and have renewed hope for the future. The current effort will focus on Thailand but offers a return on the seed money that will allow us to spread our family education program across South Asia and, eventually, to other Third World countries.

Specifically, our proposal would provide English, computer and business training for 7304 adults, and English, math and computer training for 7304 4-year-old preschoolers yearly for five years, with the total number of adults in the program increasing to 14,696 FTE per year over five years as some of the adult students increase their personal incomes after their one year of free training and then willingly pay $2-a-day tuition to continue. It is this small $2-a-day tuition by second-, third- and fourth-year students that will make this program self-sustaining at least by the end of Year 3, and hopefully by the end of Year 2.

Thus, on an ongoing basis, long after your grant funding has ended, underprivileged children and their parents will receive their first year of training free of charge and the adults only begin paying tuition after they have increased their income adequately.

Including students paying their own tuition, by the end of Year 5 an estimated 92,108 student years of training will be provided by the first five centers. The yearly FTE should at least double by Year 10 as the number of operating centers is increased from five to 10. The number of centers should continue to double every five years, indefinitely into the future, as established centers become profitable.

The adult students would enhance their English and computer skills, have opportunities to apply those skills locally, but also be taught how to apply those skills internationally over the Internet. Their preschool children would also begin learning those same skills and prepare to lead South Asia to a brighter tomorrow.

In addition to the valuable training, the children would receive a nutritious meal and snacks during the day, and would also be screened for disease, which is predicted to increase in South Asia as a consequence of the tsunami disaster. Having their preschooler cared for during the day will also free up thousands of parents to do what they need to do to survive in this time of scarcity.

The grant funding of $12,963,000 would have a dramatic impact on the lives of about 40,000 families over five years, increasing their estimated lifetime income by $200,000 per extended family (particularly parent and child), or $8 billion total, plus indirect benefits to their communities of $24 billion, as their increased wages stimulate the local economy. This impact would continue to expand exponentially as the number of training centers reaches 48 by Year 20. The total number of families impacted by then would reach 3,840,000, with a potential economy-wide impact in the trillions of dollars.

To review a detailed grant proposal, go to

So far we have secured $1 million in matching funds, and if revenues exceed our conservative projections, which we expect them to, Year 3 funding will not be needed. We actually expect to reach self-funding by the end of Year 2. Thus, the grant commitment we need in order to launch is about $8 million, with the other $4 million dependent on (1) need and (2) quality of program achieved as we near the end of Year 2.

Please let me know what formalities we need to fulfill for you to consider our grant application.