Empowerment Through Education

Pali High Seniors Launch Global Educational Initiative VIVAIO EMPOWER

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Heading into their senior year, a group of Palisades Charter High School students are looking to make a global difference through a recently launched education initiative.

VIVAIO EMPOWER—which was originally established by Alexios Stamatelopoulos and has since grown to include several of his peers—operates with a mission to “empower young minds, ignite creativity and foster global connectivity.”

“VIVAIO EMPOWER was an idea that came to me in December of 2023,” Alexios explained to the Palisadian-Post. “At the age of 5, my parents chose a non-conventional birthday present, sponsoring a child’s education in Africa … Witnessing this action for many years has developed a silent and profound education for me.”

Several years later, Alexios said his parents started a family business, VIVAIODAYS, which donates a portion of annual total global sales to support educational partners through its Schooldays Program.

“VIVAIODAYS started, in essence, when our family did,” founders Elina Lampaki and Marios Stamatelopoulos wrote. “When our first child was born, we made a family commitment to funding education in communities less privileged than ours.”

Today, VIVAIODAYS is an organic product line, designed with ingredients and recipes collected from around the world, like India, Borneo and Southern Africa, for babies and kids, including balms, shampoos, lotions and more.

“VIVAIO, or ‘nursery’ in Italian, has two meanings,” read the VIVAIODAYS website, “it’s a place where young plants grow and a place where little kids learn as they grow.”

Alexios, now a senior who resides in Santa Monica, said that growing up in a home where education is “idolized” has allowed him to see the “impact education makes on one,” leading to the launch of VIVAIO EMPOWER, alongside five friends.

James Ball serves as curriculum coordinator, Nikhil Bhasin is the school contact, Alexi Baski is finance manager, Jonny Fuhrman is social developer and Juan Cotom Lopez is a mentor.

“Our project … is a testament to the transformative power of education and the boundless potential residing within every child, regardless of geography or circumstance,” read the VIVAIO EMPOWER website.

The project intends to accomplish this through “the establishment of cutting-edge computer labs and the implementation of comprehensive digital sessions.” In fact, Alexios took a trip to Uganda to set up a computer lab at VIVAIO EMPOWER’s first partner school, Greenfield School in Kabale, Uganda—a primary school with a population of 500 students in kindergarten through sixth grade, run by 19 teachers.

“The school provides meal and board if necessary, where 35% of the school stays at the school during the school year due to living too far from the school,” according to the VIVAIO EMPOWER website. “The rest of the students walk anywhere from 30 minutes to three hours to get to school and back home everyday.”

The team said Greenfield was the “test school” for the project, trialing things like the success rate of the lessons, as well as picking and choosing the “best methods for transferring the information over to the students.”

“We aim to equip students with the tools and knowledge necessary to navigate a rapidly evolving world,” the website continued. “Our vision extends beyond the confines of traditional education, embracing a holistic approach that nurtures the mind, body and spirit.”

The VIVAIO EMPOWER team offers a range of things to program participants, including weekly mentoring, exposure to “diverse career paths,” and a “promotion of health and wellness practices.” They also ship projectors and computers to the schools in order to communicate with students and complete the curriculum.

“The biggest way we think that we can impact children is through the dispersion of knowledge,” Ball explained to the Post. “We’ve created a curriculum plan with different branches that encompass enriching topics.”

Lessons are customized for each school. VIVAIO EMPOWER works with the school to address its specific needs, selecting what lessons they will cover. The school can also determine whether or not they want the students to complete homework assignments.

Some of VIVAIO EMPOWER’s lesson offerings include Geography and World Culture, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills, Science and Technology, and A Day in My Life.

Science and Technology aims to provide “insights on the evolution of technology and its effects on society,” as well as how to use it to their advantage.

Careers shows the students “different professions around the world,” covering “diverse career paths” and skills needed. The students are shown the “diversity of the world they live in” through lessons on music, language and landscape in the Geography and World Culture course.

“Health focuses on promoting medical knowledge and hygiene practices among children,” Ball described. “Public Speaking and Presentation Skills aims to arm students with the necessary communications skills to become a leader and inspire others.”

A Day in My Life is a once-per-month connection made between one of the schools participating in VIVAIO EMPOWER and an elementary school in Los Angeles, designed to show “both schools what life is like 9,000 miles away.”

“We aspire to cultivate a generation of empowered changemakers poised to shape their communities and transcend boundaries,” according to the website. “Central to our ethos is the belief in the power of connectivity to bridge divides and cultivate empathy. By offering an unfiltered glimpse into diverse lifestyles and cultures, we strive to foster understanding, empathy and mutual respect among global citizens.”

VIVAIO EMPOWER currently works with about 2,100 students at two schools in Uganda, according to Bhasin, with plans to partner with an additional four schools by the end of September.

“As a team we see the future of VIVAIO EMPOWER as something we can pass down to the next generation of Pali High schoolers,” Baski described. “As for shorter term goals, we plan on having an impact on over 10,000 children throughout the world. As for expanding, we are in the pipeline with more schools to come across Uganda and Cambodia.”

For those looking to support VIVAIO EMPOWER’s endeavors, the team has launched a gofundme, with a goal of raising $30,000 to extend their services to 10 schools (10,000 students) across Africa and Cambodia via at least nine additional schools by December. At press time, more than $8,500 had been raised.

“Being involved in the project has made me realize the importance of knowledge and has made me appreciate the schools that I’ve been lucky to attend,” Ball said.

Ball said that he finds being involved with VIVAIO EMPOWER “extremely rewarding,” that he is grateful to share knowledge he has acquired “over the years to other people across the world.”

“With a clear roadmap and a commitment to our values, we invite you to join us on this journey towards a brighter tomorrow,” the VIVAIO EMPOWER team wrote on its website. “Together, let us pave the way for a world where every child has the opportunity to thrive, and where the transformative power of education knows no bounds.”

For more information, including a link to support programming, visit vivaioempower.com. Inquiries can be directed to alexis.vivaioempower@gmail.com.