A total of $45,000.00 was approved by the Rotary Club of Lansing Foundation Board for International Grants from the committee. Each week we will highlight one of the non-profits receiving our checks.
Pathways Togo https://pathwaystogo.org/
Pathways Togo launched its tutoring project in 2017 with the short-term goal of engaging students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and the long-term goal of empowering young women to graduate and address economic, environmental, and social issues in Togo. In the last several years, Pathways Togo decided to concentrate tutoring efforts in these subjects to scholars in the critical and difficult exam years that take place at the end of middle school, at the end of the second year of high school and at the end of high school. In addition to having passing grades throughout the school year, students must pass these exams in order to advance to high school, advance to the last year of high school and to graduate high school. Pathways Togo’s tutoring project uniquely addresses the challenges that Togolese students, especially girls, face in large classroom environments, where class sizes range from 80 to 150 students per teacher. In such settings, students have minimal chances to ask questions or receive one-on-one support. Girls, in particular, are less likely to seek help due to cultural expectations that encouragement to be deferential, which limits their academic engagement. Individualized tutoring, however, enables female scholars to overcome these barriers, leading to improved scores and a higher likelihood of passing the critical end-of-year exams necessary to advance. Before the project started, high failure rates in math and science led many students to repeat grade levels. However, the tutoring program has helped students achieve greater success, with Pathways Togo scholars consistently achieving higher passing rates than the national average meaning more middle school students passed the exam required to advance to high school, and the majority earned scores in math and science high enough to enter the more rigorous science track. This year, the project will provide six months of tutoring support to 39 Pathways Togo scholars preparing for official end-of-year exams, helping them pass, and advance to the next grade level.This funding also contributes to the sustainability of Pathways Togo’s scholarship program, as successful advancement reduces the total education cost per student, allowing Pathways Togo to assist more scholars overall. Pathways Togo received a check for $5,000.00 in January 2025.