143. Why Investing in Empowerment, Not Aid, Is the Future of Education

Mike Leggett shares insights from over two decades of international experience in transformative education and capacity building. He explores how shifting from models of aid to models of empowerment can unleash the potential of teachers and youth to become catalysts of social change. Drawing from the work of Fundashon Awenyo in Curaçao and beyond, he invites a deep rethinking of what it truly means to invest in people, not programs.Mike Leggett is an educator and capacity-building specialist with over twenty years of experience working with schools and educational systems across Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and the Pacific. He holds a Master of Science in Education and Capacity Building from the University of Guelph, where his research explored models of transformative learning in rural Colombia. Now based in Curaçao, Mike leads Fundashon Awenyo, a non-profit organization dedicated to reimagining teacher development and youth empowerment as pathways to social transformation.Through Awenyo's programs, he works alongside educators and young people to cultivate leadership, critical reflection, and a spirit of service, helping communities strengthen their own capacity to learn and grow. Michael’s approach is deeply collaborative and rooted in the belief that education should not merely transmit knowledge, but awaken the potential within each individual to become an active agent of change.To learn more, go to:https://www.awenyo.org