These 4 Harvard grad students just won $10K for their inspiring idea

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Two Rabbits is four Harvard grad students, an international nonprofit preschool program that works in countries like Cameroon and Myanmar. (Photo: Courtesy of Two Rabbits)

This holiday season, an organization run by four Harvard Graduate School of Education students wants to give the gift of high-quality preschool learning and education to children around the world.

The org is called Two Rabbits, and with the help of a GoFundMe campaign, will be traveling to Cameroon and Myanmar this year “to bring the joy and excitement of preschool to children that need it most,” according to Two Rabbits’ GoFundMe page.

And they’re getting some help — in the form of $10k.

Two Rabbits’ mission to change the lives of children won it the GoFundMe #GoBeyondGiving Challenge, in which the GoFundMe Team gives back to campaigns on the site that have inspired them. The team gifted Two Rabbits $10,000 to continue to spread education to children in places of discrimination, poverty and violence.

With the use of low-cost MP3 players and lesson facilitators from the local communities, Two Rabbits provides specially tailored lessons, songs, stories and games to the communities across the world.

“When learning is fun, mobile, and in the native language, learning has no boundaries!” the GoFundMe page states.

In Cameroon, the organization aims to build the literacy, numeracy and life skills of Baka children to help preserve their heritage and defend their rights as their home is disappearing due to logging, mining and poaching.

The Baka are an ethnic group living in multiple countries in central Africa.

“Without being able to read or speak French, the Baka struggle to preserve their ancestral heritage or tell their story to the world,” reads the GoFundMe page. “We are building in children the literacy, language, and cultural pride to defend their rights as a people.” French is one of Cameroon’s official languages.

In addition to returning to do more work in Cameroon, Two Rabbits is also planning to execute a two-week version of its teaching model in Myanmar.

“Worldwide, there are more than 3 million children in conflict age 0-4. … There is no time to lose to provide an education that enriches and protects,” the GoFundMe page states. “To foster healthy, happy, and empowered communities, we must focus on this critical period for these children with the highest need.”

According to a press release sent to USA TODAY College, the four Harvard Graduate School of Education’s International Education Policy master’s students who make up Two Rabbits are Sarah Strader, who founded Two Rabbits in Cameroon in 2014; Mary Pham, who has worked as a peace educator in Myanmar since 2011; Kara Howard, who has served in the Peace Corps in Lesotho; and Matt Owens, who has taught multiple subjects in Spain.

“This year, we invite you to help us give the gift of learning to children in Myanmar and Cameroon,” according to the GoFundMe page. “Education is like a fire: it grows as it spreads from one person to the next, never diminishing the original flame.”