I am a cofounder of Happy Brain Education, alongside my best friend Amani Zayegh.
Happy Brain Education began in 2016 as a small fundraising project. We were trying to raise money for Hussein, a young boy who needed life-saving heart surgery at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. We started tutoring sessions at $10/hr, with every contribution going toward Hussein’s surgery. Together, we raised the funds needed for Hussein’s operation, but we also discovered something profound in the process: education could be a vehicle not only for fundraising, but for human equality, our joy and fulfilment and connection.
From that beginning, Happy Brain Education evolved into a social enterprise.
HBE is grounded in a belief that education is one of the most powerful equalising forces in the world. It has the capacity to level the playing field across gender, income, migration status, and geography. It can open doors for women and men alike. It can interrupt cycles of poverty. It can support refugees, migrants, and children from disadvantaged backgrounds to access opportunities that may otherwise be out of reach.
Over time, Happy Brain Education continued to grow. It is now on its second non-founding CEO, and has helped around 1000 students a year for 10 years.
Please have a look at Happy Brain Education’s work here: https://happybrain.org.au/