A team of Taiwan-based MBA students says it’s teaming up with more than 50 Taiwanese companies to build play-based daycares called “Playcares” in impoverished communities around the world.
Last month the team won a prestigious Hult Prize from the Clinton Global Initiative, including a million US dollars in seed capital for their project. The founder and CEO of the Hult Prize, Ahmad Ashkar, was in Taiwan on Thursday to present the award to the team.
The team, called “IMPCT”, is from National Chengchi University in Taipei. It’s made up of four students, each from a different country: Chen An-nung from Taiwan, Andres Escobar from El Salvador, Taylor Scobbie from Canada, and Juan Diego Prudot from Honduras.
The group began by building an internet platform which allows the public to invest money that can be used to construct and operate the Playcares. It then built the first classroom in El Salvador, which will provide a play-based Montessori curriculum and ongoing support.
There are plans to build 100 more locally owned and operated Playcares next year in areas of need. There are planned projects in Cambodia, Honduras and Taiwan. In each area, a local mother is trained to care for the children and lead them in play activities.
The team said Thursday that they are looking for office space, volunteers, and technical staff who can help work on the donation platform.
To learn more about the IMPCT’s Playcares, visit: http://www.playcares.com/#impct