imagine1day

About us

imaginelday is an international development organization enabling primary education in Ethiopia and is distinctive in its approach, which holds leadership development as a key element of program implementation. Chip & Shannon Wilson launched imagine1day in 2007, with an endowment to support our operations and enable a 100% flow-through of public donations to our projects in Ethiopia. Drawing inspiration from their commitment to education and leadership and their vision to reimagine charity, we take a business- minded approach to development, by setting goals, applying long-term thinking and achieving results.
The organization’s program activities include school construction, in depth teacher training, and capacity building with its direct partners in the rural communities in Ethiopia, ensuring self-sustainability every step of the way.

Our Vision
A world where all people are connected to their greatness.

Our Mission
Leverage the power of Education to transform a Nation

Our Goal
By 2030, we’re going to make sure all Ethiopians have access to quality education free of foreign aid.

What we do
• Education:
Creating access: We provide schooling opportunities in areas where there would otherwise not be access to education through the building or improvement of school facilities. We provide school materials, specifically with a focus on enabling out-of-school children (OSC) to continue their education. Along with this, we train community leaders to educate their community on the value of education.
Improving Quality: We improve education quality, providing teaching material, additional facilities, and encouraging extracurriculars. We include facilities in our schools that improve education outcomes such as science labs, computer labs, gender-segregated latrines, libraries, and water points.
Efficiency: We eliminate barriers students face so that dropout rates and repetition of grades are decreased.
Equity: We have an essential focus on equity. We actively ensure gender parity in enrolment and participation in our schools, especially for girls who often face unconducive school environments. We eliminate these barriers by educating girls on menstrual health and providing them with MHH rooms and gender-segregated latrines and showers.
• Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH): WASH is our second pillar. The three aspects of WASH can act as an immense barrier to education for many children. Fetching water is often a girl’s responsibility. Girls in a family unit can be expected to walk for hours each day, preventing them from accessing education. Providing water systems allows families to prioritize their girls’ education. Hygiene is another weight placed disproportionately on girls. Schools are often not conducive to girls’ monthly menstrual cycle; they are not allotted separate latrines or Menstrual Health and Hygiene rooms to change. By providing both resources, girls have the chance to attend up to a week more of classes each month. Finally, sanitation, is an issue which plagues many communities. Water sanitation is difficult to ensure when water sources themselves are scarce. By allowing for water sanitation, the instance of disease decreases. WASH clubs in schools are also trained and educated to ensure communities can sustain their clean water.
• Protection (Child Protection (CP) and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Prevention): Child Protection (CP) and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) prevention programs and services ensures the safeguarding of children and GBV prevention. Gender-based violence protection programs support raising communities’ awareness of GBV prevention, mitigation, and response.
• Leadership: Leadership is our most important pillar and is a catalyst for creating bold, visionary, and goal-oriented leaders committed to transforming the education system.

For other net participants we can offer an expert guidance through trained staff, give an expert opinion, procure expert information and establish new contacts in the field of our work.