Onja

Unlocking Africa’s next top coders

How it works

Our starting point is Madagascar, home to 101 species of lemur and millions of talent-rich, opportunity-poor students.

The Wasted Talent

In Madagascar only 1 in every 20 people make it to university. There are few or no scholarships and thus tertiary study is a privilege reserved for the small number of people who can afford it. As a result, the majority of the most brilliant minds are limited to low- paying, unfulfilling careers.

RECRUITMENT

We assess the very brightest students who can’t afford high school or university and select those who show motivation and computer programming aptitude.

EDUCATION

Students receive two years of English and Computer programming instruction at our live-in training centre in Mahanoro, a small beach town in Eastern Madagascar.

ENTERPRISE

Graduates begin exciting work developing software with overseas teams. They continue to advance their skills and earn a life-changing salary to support themselves, and their families. 100% of profits made are used to train the next wave of talented students.

SUSTAINABLE

With the enterprise up and running, we’ll be able to grow our student base without further donations – the work completed by a single graduate will fund an estimated 7 further students.

Ready to meet a student you can support?

Once trained, students pay forward their opportunity to others thus impact will continue to grow long after donations stop.

Meet the Students

What they say

I always yearned to go to university but my family couldn’t afford to send me, so after I finished high school I helped my mother farming and selling goods in the market. Thanks to Onja I can study and accomplish what I’ve longed for.

Rinon

Onja Student

If I wasn’t at Onja, I would work for my aunt and uncle, as they have money. I would take care of their children and couldn’t study anymore. But because I have Onja, I can learn many things.

Synthia

Onja Student

If I wasn’t at Onja, I would have worked as a cook and wouldn’t be able to help my family but now I can plan my life and want to help others that really need it.

Sugi

Onja Student

At Onja, I’ve already learnt so much and I especially want to thank the volunteers who teach us.

Jerome

Onja Student

Teaching at ONJA was an amazing experience. Students are highly motivated and are even disappointed once class has finished. Imagine teaching those students in a beautiful country like Madagascar. Unforgettable and life changing.

Alex

Onja volunteer - English teacher

I visited Onja in May 2019 to write a feature length story on the project for publication in New Zealand where I live.
During the visit I also had the opportunity to help the students develop their public speaking skills as many of them were quite shy. I really enjoyed my time at Onja. The students were very engaging and the teaching team work hard to deliver a high quality learning experience. I hope to be able to make a return visit in the future.

Andrew

Business Writer & Consultant

Working as a volunteer for Onja was the experience of a lifetime. Teaching such intelligent and highly motivated students was a pleasure and very rewarding. I felt very much at home at Onja, and it was an honor to be part of such a beautiful initiative, which I am sure will create life changing opportunities for new young Malagasy students in the years to come.

Kirsten

Volunteer