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Indianapolis’ civic engagement dates back to 1960s efforts to transform our once-bleak downtown into a destination. In the decades since, leaders and volunteers have worked to ensure our city punches above its weight class.
This is evident in Indianapolis’ hosting of more than 500 national and international sporting events over the last 35 years and in its recent investments of $9 billion in downtown development. Such momentum has built a sense of optimism about Indianapolis and a desire to strengthen it.
Work led by Indianapolis-based organizations to educate children in some of the most underserved parts of the globe also should remind us of Indianapolis’ ability to make an outsized impact. In India, Jamaica, Mexico, South Africa and Uganda, our Indianapolis-based nonprofits change the life trajectories of hundreds of thousands of children each year, with efforts underway to expand our work in some of these countries and grow into new geographies.
Christel House—founded by the late entrepreneur Christel DeHaan—aims to help students from under-resourced communities realize their potential by providing high-quality education and holistic support. With nine schools in five countries, 95% of our recent graduates are either employed or enrolled in higher education or trade school, and our graduates have three times the formal employment rate of their peers.
Building Tomorrow empowers Ugandan communities to ensure their primary-age learners gain proficiency in literacy and numeracy. In 2024, a trained corps of approximately 15,000 community education volunteers worked directly with more than 280,000 learners nationwide, improving foundational learning for nearly 80% of learners, many of whom are out of school.
While these efforts can’t be seen at home, they’re an important part of the Indianapolis story and should spark pride in our city’s global impact for three key reasons.
◗ Global development work deepens connections between Indianapolis and the world. Indianapolis has been elevated on a global stage through the work of companies, economic development organizations and sports. Global development efforts strengthen these ties. Many of our Indianapolis-based team members and supporters have traveled to the countries we serve, bringing back lessons in community and academic engagement.
◗ We’ve built models abroad that can be imported to make our work in the U.S. stronger. Christel House’s College & Careers program has become a model for successful postsecondary and workforce preparation in Indianapolis and beyond. It originated at Christel House’s school in Venezuela out of a need to prepare students for success after high school and use metrics beyond test scores to measure their readiness. Because of its effectiveness, the program is expanding to serve four Indianapolis high schools outside of our network this school year.
Similarly, Building Tomorrow’s reliance on proximate, well-trained community volunteers to tackle learning poverty offers a promising example for U.S.-based efforts, rooted in research.
◗ Seeing change in other countries reminds us that it’s possible here, too. Social-sector work can feel daunting. It’s easy to lose hope, given the scale and intractability of the challenges. Our global colleagues bring optimism to match the size of these challenges, and that inspires us to see what is possible, both abroad and at home.
Global work reminds us that Indianapolis residents and institutions are capable of impacting people far beyond the Circle City. While our efforts abroad strengthen Bangalore, Cape Town, Kampala and beyond, they also make our own community more connected, inspired and stronger.•
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Harris is president and CEO of Christel House International. Srour is co-founder and chief dreamer of Building Tomorrow.
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