About Educate Gabon

Educate Gabon was founded in 2021 by Patricia Edou. Patricia is a Gabonese American who was born in Libreville, Gabon, but mainly grew up in the United States. She was grateful to have access to a great public education system, but whenever she returned to Gabon, she saw that while there are some good schools in Gabon, they often require annual tuition that can be difficult for families to afford.

However, if a Gabonese student can complete high school and graduate with a 12/20 grade point average (GPA), then the Gabonese government will pay for them to attend university.

But, if families can’t afford to have their children attend good schools, then the student may need to attend a public school, but there are often not enough seats in public schools for all children. This means there is a likelihood they may not be able to attend school.

This is where Patricia noticed the gap.

Students need to be able to attend a good school, stay in school, and graduate with a 12/20 GPA so that they can go to university.

At this point, Patricia knew she was going to create a scholarship to pay full tuition for students. She decided to pilot the scholarship at a school in Libreville, Gabon that is important to her family - a Catholic middle and high school that her father Paulin Edou-Akoe built: College Calasanz.

She named the scholarship the Madeleine Okomo-Allogo Memorial scholarship in honor of her late grandmother. Her late grandmother was very intelligent and determined, but who was unable to fully complete school. Grandmother Madeleine was sold into marriage when she was young and spent many years selling vegetables in order to buy her freedom. When she had children and grandchildren, she always prayed that they would be successful. As Madeleine’s granddaughter, Patricia believes that helping kids stay and be successful in school is a way to fulfill her grandmother's prayers.

All in all, Educate Gabon was founded to bridge a very large gap in the Gabonese educational system by ensuring students can afford to attend a good school, relieve families of the stress of providing tuition funds, and to provide a fair chance for students to eventually attend university.

All donations that Educate Gabon receives go directly to the school.

The funds are currently received either through the non-profit Encore de la Paix, GoFundMe, or directly on this website. Then, funds are wired to one of our team members who is currently located in Libreville, withdrawn at an ATM, taken to College Calasanz, and the students’ tuitions are processed by Father Luis, the principal at College Calasanz.

Since 2022, Educate Gabon's donors have support 24 students in their pursuit to continue their education.

EducateGabon has partnered with Encore de la Paix. Encore de la Paix is a non-profit organization of returned Peace Corps volunteers from Gabon who continue to spearhead projects that continue to support Gabonese communities. For more information, please visit encoredelapaix.org.