CHICAGO, May 22, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- buildOn today announced that the $150,000 donation it received from Teza Technologies CEO Misha Malyshev and his wife, Oksana Malysheva, has resulted in the completion of five schools in Malawi and Nicaragua. The schools are providing more than 2,100 children in rural villages with a clean, safe place to learn. Additionally, through a partnership with each village, buildOn is ensuring that at least half of the schools' students are female.
"Education is what allows people to move forward and create opportunities for themselves, their families and communities," said Malyshev. "My wife and I, and my firm, are strong supporters of buildOn's mission and we are delighted to see that these five schools have been completed."
Villagers volunteered more than 6,000 work days to complete the five schools in Malawi (located in Nthumbo, Sisilo Manondo, and Nyemba) and Nicaragua (located in Jiquelito and Linda Vista). Three of the schools were constructed in partnership with student volunteers from Chicago, New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Consistently ranked among the world's 20 least developed countries on the United Nations' Human Development Index, the African country of Malawi has long been challenged by economic stagnation and a lack of access to education. In Nicaragua, the second poorest country in Latin America after Haiti, individuals living in rural villages have only two years of education on average. According to the Global Campaign for Education, no country has ever achieved continuous and rapid economic growth without first having at least 40 percent of its adults able to read and write.
In addition to their continued support of education in developing countries, the Malyshevs also support efforts in Chicago through buildOn's Afterschool Service Program. In December of 2012, the couple led Teza's contribution to buildOn's Breaking the Cycle Campaign. Through a $100,000 matching gift grant from Teza, the campaign raised $235,000 to support buildOn's Afterschool Service Programs in under-resourced Chicago Public Schools (CPS) high schools, and to build three schools in Malawi.
"The Malyshevs' dedication to education both here in the U.S. is inspiring," said Jim Ziolkowski, CEO and founder of buildOn. "Without the support of investors like Misha and Oksana, buildOn's work would not be possible. These schools will not only change the lives of hundreds of children, but will bring continued development to entire communities."
About Misha Malyshev
Misha Malyshev is the CEO and founder of Teza Technologies, a science and technology driven global quantitative trading business headquartered in Chicago with offices in New York and London. Dr. Malyshev earned his Ph.D. in astrophysics from Princeton University, as well as an M.S. in theoretical physics and a B.S. in physics and mathematics from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. An active supporter of education initiatives. Misha Malyshev joined buildOn in 2013 and is currently active as a member of the global leadership council. For more information, follow Misha Malyshev on Twitter or visit www.teza.com
About buildOn
At home or abroad, buildOn's goal is to break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education. In the U.S., buildOn empowers urban youth to transform their neighborhoods through intensive community service and to change the world by building schools in some of the economically poorest countries in the world. Internationally, buildOn is breaking ground on a new school every five days in Haiti, Nicaragua, Nepal, Senegal, Malawi, and Mali. Our students have contributed over 1 million hours of service in the U.S., and have helped build more than 511 schools around the world. For more information, visit http://www.buildon.org.
Photo caption: Teza Technologies CEO Misha Malyshev
A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=25530
