Tomorrow is huge. It’s the pudding. You know, where the proof is. We’ll be launching some beautifully designed holiday cards and gifts that share the stories of the kids at our partner school in Tanzania. Their sale seeks to prove our hypothesis: compelling stories of hope are assets that people in need can use to raise the income necessary to transform their own communities. If you believe that’s possible, and want to help us prove that it is, I hope you’ll make a purchase and help us spread the word.

I preface with that because I am completely consumed with hope and hard work, but got a couple of fabulous emails from Tanzania that I couldn’t wait to share, so I’m taking a welcome break from the grindstone to post a quick update.

The first was from Leah, a fourth grader who’s one of the brightest in her class. She wrote me this short note:

I want to tell you that yesterday I did the national examination. I promise you that we will win the exam. I love you.

Each year, students across Tanzania in grades 4 and higher take annual national exams. Since our partner school in Tanzania just expanded this year to include Class 4, this was the school’s first opportunity to participate. The day after I received Leah’s note, I got this one from Teacher Nancy Nashilu, the fourth grade instructor. I was brought to tears when I read what she had to say in an email with the subject heading “STORM IS OVER”. She wrote:

Is it real that class 4’s have done their national examination? Is it true that we’ve lifted the heavy luggage we had carried? Unbelievable.

Shepherds Junior, with the help of Epic Change, has managed to make a big step in life by having their first Class 4 doing their National Examination. Great. I personally interviewed my students one day before that very day, and they thanked their teachers for the good preparation we had done for them. They promised me to do wonders. I saw the determination and the courage they had when I was interrogating them, and I felt something in them. Being a class teacher and having the first class at our school to sit for the national examination, made me struggle and surrender all my energies together with my colleagues to see our students succeed. I was chosen as the assistant exam proctor. On that very morning, 12.11.08, I was given the mathematics tests to take into the examination room. Behind me was the lead proctor and the headmaster. I walked as a bride holding the papers on my hand. When I reached in the room I looked on my beloved students and I felt tears rolling from my eyes. Not that I was sad, but because I had faith and trust that they will make it.

The room was so quiet in such a way you could have heard intestines colliding in the stomach. And as I was opening the sealed envelope containing the exams, I knew to expect nineteen 100s in math from my class. After the examination, the students told me the paper was as easy as ABC! I felt like flying because this first exam got such a positive response from my lovely students, but I had no wings. The first day ended with this saying of “YES WE CAN” which reminded me of the current U.S.A. President and how he made it with the same words and I got even higher hopes for my students. The second day everything went on accordingly still with the same saying. Now we are eagerly waiting for their results to see whether they will win the battle…like Obama.

Whatever your politics, you can’t help but feel this fabulous teacher’s love, pride and hope for her students. I wish I could explain to Leah, Nancy, and to you, just how much these notes mean to me.

I’ve heard a lot of talk at recent conferences about metrics for social innovators and socially responsible businesses. So many seem to measure quantity. How many people were served? How much was donated? How many donors participated? How many people visited the website? These are obviously critical metrics, but I believe we need to expand the discussion to focus not only on the scope of our impact, but on its quality and depth. Test scores are one way to do that, as are surveys of targeted populations (provided you can obtain frank feedback, which is sometimes difficult).

For us, it’s more than how many students are we impacting, it’s the quality of the education they receive. For our partners who are passionately committed to delivering the best possible education to the children in their care, that’s the pudding. You know, where the proof is.

I can’t wait to share the school’s test scores with you when they arrive.