CIAMO is a Rachel’s Network Fiscal Sponsorhip Fund that launched in 2011.

“All children should be exposed to the arts, celebrating humans’ greatest creative achievements,” says Sarah duPont, founder of CIAMO, one of Africa’s first tuition-free schools to offer art and music classes.

The project was inspired by Sarah’s work in the U.S. developing curriculum for the humanities and environmental education, areas that are known to impact creative thinking. Bringing her idea for CIAMO to fruition, however, required six years of dedicated planning before the first students walked through the school’s door.

“Establishing CIAMO took a lot of tenacity. A normal person probably would have given up!  I had to search for partners in the community who actually believed in the cause,” Sarah says.

In 2012, CIAMO offered in-class curriculum to 280 primary school students, an after-school program to 200 primary and secondary school students, a three-week summer camp, and its first-ever training for instructors through partnerships with the Peace Corps and USAID.

The Rachel’s Network Fiscal Sponsorship Fund empowers members to develop entrepreneurial programs into independent nonprofits. Through it, members may initiate a project through the Network’s established 501(c)(3) nonprofit structure without having to assume the administrative responsibilities of establishing a new legal entity. This process affords members the freedom to manage their projects and nurture their budding organizations’ growth.