Pencils of Promise: The Global Movement That Began With a Pencil

Over 75 million children in the world do not have access to education. During a trip to India, Brown University alum Adam Braun met one of them. The small boy was begging on the streets, and when Braun asked him what he wanted the most in the world, his reply wasn't money or food. He wanted a pencil.

“I reached into my backpack,” Braun recalls. “Handed him my pencil. And watched as a wave of possibility washed over him.” Inspired by the “profound power and promise” of something as simple as giving a pencil to a child, Braun spent the next five years backpacking across more than 50 countries, handing out pens and pencils. He met countless local parents and children, and talking to them made him realize that there was a need for an international education non-profit that was led on-the-ground by a staff of locals to ensure its success.



In October of 2008, Braun founded Pencils of Promise with $25 to build a school in Laos. Since then, Pencils of Promise has grown into a global movement of passionate individuals dedicated to creating a better world through education. So far, the organization has completed 74 schools in Laos, Nicaragua, and Guatemala; educated over 4,500 children; and delivered more than 2.8 million education hours. Additionally, Pencils of Promise is currently building or planning 32 more schools.

Beyond building schools, Pencils of Promise provides support to its villages through ongoing education programs. The organization also hires and invests in local talent, many of whom are women and minorities, giving them professional development training. Local teams then monitor and evaluate Pencils of Promise's impact through data analysis and conversations with communities.

Pencils of Promise is one of the world's most impactful new non-profits today, with a large social media following and recognized by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Katie Couric, and Barbara Walters.