This week, Good Morning America ran a piece on how one American girl partnered with Big Life Foundation to help improve conditions at an East African primary school:

Huge differences exist between Africa and the developed world, but some aspects of humanity are universal: The desire to feed your family, and give your children the best possible start in life.

When Richard Bonham began his mission to conserve Amboseli’s wildlife, he realized that successful wildlife conservation starts with people. For local communities, wildlife is often a burden, imposing huge economic costs and even causing human injury or death. The result, clearly, is anger and resentment. It is not until communities benefit from the existence of wildlife, often through employment or education, that attitudes change.

Alongside employing rangers, Richard began a wildlife education scholarship fund to help families put their children through school. Since that time, Big Life has helped finance the education of 221 students, and we currently sponsor another 106 ranging from Primary School to University level.

All of this is only possible through the generosity of people living thousands of miles away. The Highland School in Virginia has partnered with a local Maasai school, providing much needed support for infrastructure, school fees and teacher salaries. A group of students from Highland recently came to visit Big Life and the school that they are supporting. 

The connection made by one of their students, Lily Daniels, is a special one, and has changed the course of Sien, one young Maasai girl’s life. See how this feel-good story unfolds here:

RELATED LINKS:

GOOD MORNING AMERICA ON BIG LIFE WILDLIFE EDUCATION FUND Video Clip:  http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/teen-14-makes-difference-half-world-25776262