Pangea Governance & Leadership

2020

Staff Orientation Guide WELCOME!

Our mission is to empower individuals and communities to fulfill their own purpose and potential by fostering cultures of literacy

OUR MISSION

We are a community of changemakers who believe all people have the ability to learn and grow to their full potential. We are working to build a culture of learning that equips every person to be a change agent in their own story and community.

Through education, we are making a deliberate, sustainable, and substantial impact on the structural inequalities in our world, while treating each person as more than a number. We believe in authentic interactions grounded in mutual respect and a commitment to helping everyone fully realize their potential and inspire action beyond our efforts.

The PANGEA Manifesto

The problem

At PANGEA, we focus on educational development and empowerment through literacy. Our approach to literacy development requires a focus within and across each sphere of a child’s life: in school, at home, and in the community.

At PANGEA, we focus on educational development and empowerment through literacy. Our approach to literacy development requires a focus within and across each sphere of a child’s life: in school, at home, and in the community.

The root of the issue PANGEA’s approach

ACCESS TO MATERIALS

PUBLISHING ECONOMY

PARENT EDUCATION

QUALITY OF TEACHERS

Most children don’t have a single book at home

Most (if any) available books aren’t culturally representative

A literate parent rarely raises an illiterate child

Avg classroom sizes are over 50 students – that’s

asking a lot of a single instructor

Our programs work to address 4 key areas of literacy development through three programs.

Capturing and creating culturally relevant children’s books from Ugandan folklore

Improving bilingual literacy instruction in the classroom

Using bicycles and moto-bikes for a weekly service delivering books in rural communities

We are changing the story of world literacy

How they work

Next Steps

Wide Range We employ 8 Mobile Librarians around

Uganda to deliver books in three regions around Uganda: Kampala, Gulu, Imvepi

Refugee Settlement

Netflix of Books A book subscription service intended to

lower the cost of book access. These started by delivering directly to homes and

now distribute through schools.

Mobile Libraries

Model Shift These started by delivering directly to

homes and now distribute through schools increase number served and support in

class learning.

Model Shift These started by delivering directly to

homes and now distribute through schools.

Only edu operating during COVID Our Mobile Libraries are the only education

program running across any of Uganda’s refugee settlements totalling 1 million

people during COVID-19.

High Impact Last year we checked out over 248,000

books alone. This year we are projected to distribute nearly 1 million.

Collect stories We employ 8 story collectors from around Uganda to gather traditional folklore to be

turned into children’s books. We have collected 152 stories across XX languages.

Translate and Illustrate Each book is printed with both the

mother-tongue language it was originally collected and English to simultaneously

preserve and expand the culture’s reach. We have 24 books currently in distribution in

Uganda and 5 for sale in the US.

Distribute in local communities The Pangea Publishing mobile libraries

distribute these culturally relevant books alongside donated books to rural communities

providing weekly access to new reading material.

Sell around the world It’s not only important that local readers can see

themselves in books as they learn to read, but also for readers around the world to have a window into the unique culture and traditions that have been out of

sight until now.

Extend the impact Each book sale allows one family in a local

community to subscribe to the mobile library for one year at a price they can afford. It also enables increased story collection, illustration, and greater

distribution through the hiring of more mobile librarians.

How it works…

Oral Folklore

New Styles

Issue Books Myths

LegendsLifeskills

Student WrittenTotems

Famous Figures

Cultural Modernity

Diverse Identities

We are changing the story of world literacy

We are changing the story of world literacy

Making Classroom Learning Meaningful

Next Steps

Comprehensive We do not take the any shortcuts to

behavior change. Our program is run over 8 models throughout a 10 month period.

Literacy Focused Our program is explicitly focused on early

grade literacy instruction. This means a primary focus on nursery through third

grade where the foundation of reading and learning is established

Literacy Instruction Training (LIT)

Model Evolution We are experimenting with various forms of teacher training models that are more efficient in order to serve more teachers

without sacrificing quality.

Student Centered While the program is technically focused

on literacy, we utilize the topic to integrate larger picture best learning practices.

Getting out of rows and on our feet to learn

Practical Half of the time we spend training takes

place in the classrooms of teachers themselves. We focus more on coaching and collaborating than teaching others in

theory only.

A brief timeline

2011 Pangea Educational Development founded

2012 - 14 Focus on foundational capacity in partner schools (physical space to learn, safety, financially sustainable school)

2015 Shift away from primarily volunteer-based involvement

2016 Increased emphasis on teacher effectiveness and community involvement

2017 Focus shifts to literacy with mobile library efforts and story collection for Pangea Publishing

2018 US Launch of Pangea Publishing (Kickstarter + first books available)

2019 Operational goals shift from program expansion to securing financials, including evaluating our business model and potential new revenue streams through publisher conversations