Expanding Full-Support Schools Across the Global South
Summary
In 2025, Christel House International committed to expanding its Global Pathbuilders Fellowship program to two new countries, ultimately reaching 798 youth in Colombia and Nepal over the next four years. The schools will provide early childhood to senior secondary education, ongoing access to health care, psychosocial and mental health services, social services, and career and college guidance. This full-circle approach integrating has already helped more than 21,000 students transcend poverty and unlock pathways to employment, education, and upward mobility. Two visionary leaders will be brought on as fellows and immersed in the proven Christel House model through direct mentorship from experienced CEOs and other local leaders who will share operational best practices, strategic insights, and programmatic innovations. They will also receive tailored support, including a comprehensive training program, access to global networks, and the necessary funding to successfully launch the schools. This initiative will not only address the educational needs of underserved communities but also equip local leaders to bring Christel House’s unique model to additional regions, establishing a long-lasting impact.
Approach
To address the needs facing children and families in impoverished communities, Christel House International will launch two new schools in Nepal and Colombia, targeting the most impoverished students in the schools’ catchment areas. Across both schools, Christel House will serve and support a total of 798 students from age 5 to 23 through no-fee early childhood to senior secondary schooling, ongoing access to health care (medical, dental, and eye care) , psychosocial and mental health services, social services, and post-secondary success programming including career and college guidance and support.
In Nepal, Christel House International will recruit and train a CEO through its intensive two-year Global Pathbuilders Fellowship program, preparing the local leader to select and launch the school site in 2028. In Colombia, Christel House will partner with a local foundation to recruit a leader who will be put on a fast tracked Fellowship, leveraging their deep local knowledge and presence. This partner will also support the school launch and ongoing operations.
When the schools ultimately reach full enrollment in 2039, each will serve 840 students (a total of 1,680 students) .
The Endless Success Foundation will be a major funding source for the initiative, covering initial land and building costs and supporting operational and administrative expenses over time.
Technical advisors Nova Pioneer, One World Network of Schools, and Global Schools Forum will provide ongoing support during CEO development and school implementation, ensuring access to strong local and global coaching, service providers, philanthropic partners, and impact monitoring.
Action Plan
The commitment’s implementation is divided into two main phases. Phase one (2025–2027) focuses on leadership preparation and school planning. In Nepal, a CEO candidate will participate in the Global Pathbuilders Fellowship. During the first year, the fellow will immerse in the Christel House leadership model, develop a school-specific vision, conduct needs assessments, and prepare detailed plans covering facilities, governance, compliance, community engagement, parent support, stakeholder alliances, fundraising, financial management, and staffing. This includes observation and learning visits to existing Christel House schools. By the final quarter of 2026, the fellow will finalize and present a comprehensive school launch plan to the Christel House Board for approval.
In 2027, preparations for the launch will take place in both Nepal and Colombia. In Nepal, the fellow will transition into the role of CEO, finalize the local board, hire senior leadership, and develop monitoring and evaluation systems. Meanwhile, in Colombia, Christel House will work closely with its local partner to prepare for the school launch, coordinating staffing, facilities, community engagement, and resource mobilization. Recruitment of staff and students, along with resource mobilization, will occur primarily in the second and third quarters. The final quarter will focus on staff training, facility completion, and parent orientation to ensure readiness.
Phase two (2028) marks the official launch of the new schools. Each will welcome 360 students across three grades (kindergarten to second grade) . Both schools will be fully staffed and equipped with facilities, systems, and resources to provide Christel House’s comprehensive poverty alleviation programming, including education, health, psychosocial support, and career guidance.
The completion date for this commitment is December 31, 2029, aligned with the first full academic year post-launch.
Background
For millions of children, poverty is not just an economic condition; it’s a multi-dimensional barrier to opportunity. It affects nutrition, health, stability, and access to education, compounding across a child’s lifetime. Despite near-universal primary school enrollment, 7 in 10 children in low- and middle-income countries cannot read a simple story by age 10 (World Bank) . Education alone is insufficient.
Fewer than 1 in 10 children born into extreme poverty transcend it without sustained intervention (World Bank) . Evidence from global studies shows that long-term, multi-sectoral investments that integrate education, health, and social support can break this cycle. A World Bank report examining educational mobility from 1970 to 2018 found that only 12% of young adults in Sub-Saharan Africa attained more education than their parents, compared to over 80% in East Asia. One key difference was that East Asian governments invested not just in education but also in healthcare, nutrition, and school infrastructure, while Sub-Saharan governments focused primarily on increasing access to education (World Bank) . A multi-country longitudinal study by Young Lives found that expanding school enrollment alone did not eliminate achievement gaps—children who experienced early malnutrition or instability started behind and stayed behind, despite being in school [Young Lives Study]. Similarly, the Harlem Children’s Zone’s cradle-to-career model in the U.S. closed the black–white achievement gap in Math and halved it in English within three years, thanks to a comprehensive support system (Education Week) .
These findings underscore what has been known for decades: when children receive sustained, wraparound support, the outcomes ripple across generations. Christel House is expanding their proven model to Nepal and Colombia, opening new schools that will ultimately serve 2,100 learners annually, and ensuring the access to education, health services, and career support, that will break the cycle of poverty for future generations.
Progress Update
Partnership Opportunities
Christel House is looking for funders committed to sustainable financing of poverty alleviation programming to support ongoing operational expenditures. Also, implementing partners at the local government and/or national government level in the selected countries, to develop public-private-partnership opportunities to support sustainable scaling of the model locally and nationally. Other social impact organizations working in physical and mental health, psycho-social support and counseling, nutrition, and transportation services to support delivery of the full-support model offered to students and the broader school community. Christel House is also committed to leveraging diasporic communities outside of the countries of operation, to create a global community of support focused on ongoing impact and success of the new schools. Additionally, Christel House seeks media support to build their brand and credibility in the new countries. Particularly local media outreach and PR partnerships to increase awareness, engage communities and highlight the impact of the new schools.,Christel House commits to sharing lessons learned and best practices on poverty alleviation from a local and global perspective, taking into account their international expertise at the network level, and local expertise within the countries where existing network schools are. The goal is to contribute to broader knowledge development and knowledge dissemination across the sector and add value to the global conversation about schools being used as sites for community-based resource mobilization predicated on high-quality education and economic mobility. This will come in the form of ongoing webinars, conference discussions, and thought-pieces, grounded in longitudinal impact data coming from students, families, alumni, and in-direct beneficiaries in the Christel House school community.