In places like Afghanistan, most children do not go to school and the ones that do often attend small fundamentalist religious schools. Those children lucky enough to have families willing to send them receive a less than stellar education; 25% of the teachers are illiterate.

Even with incredible tools like the solar-powered XO laptop, designed specifically for children in the developing world, trying to find qualified teachers in places where most of the adults are no more educated than the children is a daunting task.

You can’t simply give a laptop to a child and expect them to learn on their own… can you?

Nepal

Philippines

Pakistan

Sierra Leone

OLPC tried it and as it turns out, you can. Not only do the children teach themselves how to read and write, 50% of them also teach their parents how to read and write.

The key to a better world, says Nicholas Negroponte, founder of One Laptop Per Child, is to “use the kids as agents of change.”

A simple laptop can give disadvantaged children in remote areas an understanding of the outside word, creating a more educated, hopeful, and tolerant global population.

You can earn donations to help educate children in developing countries by supporting One Laptop Per Child on SocialVibe.