M. Night Shyamalan Foundation

Mnsf News

Nicholas Kristof Visits Valentino's School

Our favorite NY Times Op-Ed Columnist, Nicholas Kristof, made a visit to Marial Bai, Sudan to meet with our good friend Valentino Achak Deng. He writes about his experience, the secondary school, and Valentino here.  Also, read a previous NYTimes article about Valentino here.  

Foundation to Help Fund KIPP Elementary Schools

  The M. Night Shyamalan Foundation has awarded KIPP Philadelphia $75,000 in start-up funds in support of the first three KIPP Philadelphia Elementary Schools, to open in 2010, 2011, and 2012.  KIPP Philadelphia Schools (KPS) is a network of high-performing, public charter schools that enable students to succeed in all levels of K-12 education and college, giving them the freedom to...

M. Night Shyamalan Foundation Commits $25,000 to Teach For America, Mid-Atlantic Region

  The M. Night Shyamalan Foundation has committed $25,000 in general operating support to Teach For America for the Philadelphia and Camden program.  Teach For America aims to end educational inequity-the reality that in our country where a child is born determines his or her educational outcomes and life prospects. They are working with a great sense of urgency to build the movement...

M. Night Shyamalan Speaks on Education Panel at Keystone Weekend 2008

Night joined other moderators including The Honorable Chakah Fattah, The Honroable Marjorie Rendell, and Roger Dennis, Dean at Drexel University School of Law, in a discussion entitled, "Are we Applying the Right Metrics in Measuring the Education of Our Future Workforce?"  Other moderators. See a brief summary here.

M. Night Shyamalan Foundation in Sudan for Valentino's School Opening

  In August of 2009, the M. Night Shyamalan Foundation traveled to Marial Bai, Sudan to attend the official opening ceremony for the Marial Bai Secondary school built by the Valentino Achack Deng Foundation. The school is the first fully-functional secondary school in the entire region, where after twenty years of war, students have had no other opportunities to continue their education....

Kasturba Nager project Inauguration

On August 1, 2008, the formal inauguration of the MNSF Kasturba Nager project was completed. Usha Narayane with her team of women began their vocational training for income generation.  About 150 women from Self Help Groups and other women from the locality were present for the function. Government recognized computer trainings began, and entrepreneuership development motivational workshops...

M. Night Shyamalan Foundation Travels to Africa

In 2008, the M. Night Shyamalan Foundation spent two weeks traveling through Tanzania and Kenya, visiting various NGOs (non-governmental organizations) who work to address the roots and sequella of poverty. Among these nonprofits were two grant recipients, the Tanzanian Children's Fund and Lewa Education Programming. See photos from our trip here.

Tanzanian Children's Village Received $11,000 Grant

The M. Night Shyamalan Foundation has awarded the Tanzanian Children's Fund a grant in the amount of $11,350 to help send children to secondary school. The Tanzanian Children's Fund was established to aid the orphaned children of Tanzania, and works in parternship with registered NGO's, nonprofit organizations, and others to provide financial and intellectual support to programs...

Lewa Education Program Receives $10,000 for feeding program

The M. Night Shyamalan Foundation has given a grant in the amount of $10,000 to help feed the 400+ plus children attending Munanda Primary School in Kenya.  Lewa Wildlife Conservancy works as a catalyst for wildlife conservation through the protection and management of species and their habitats, the support of community conservation initiatives, and the education of neighboring communities...

Teach For America Welcomes Night as Keynote Speaker

On June 24th, Teach For America Greater Philadelphia-Camden welcomed its 2008 corps of teachers to the region with a dinner and program featuring writer/producer M. Night Shyamalan as keynote speaker. The 2008 corps joins 2007 Teach For America corps members totaling over 320 teachers in the region and 500 alumni of the program in the Greater Philadelphia community. The dinner, attended by...

MNSF begins work in India

The M.Night Shyamalan foundation has finalized plans to partner with the National Instititue of Women, Children, and Youth Development, an Indian NGO based in Nagpur, India, to start their Kasturba Nagar Community Project. This three-year, $85,000 project, will empower 250 community women, both socially and financially, through a self-help model.   Throughout the three years, women...

M. Night Shyamalan Foundation makes Clinton Global Initiative Commitment

In 2005, former President Bill Clinton founded the Clinton Global Initiative to help well-intended people achieve results. Each year, the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting bring together a diverse group of world leaders, political figures, foundation, corporations, and individual grantmatkers, to examine today's most pressing global challenges. From this meeting, tangible...

M. Night Shyamalan Foundation to Help with Subsistence Farming in Samburu District, Kenya

  The Samburu Project's water well in Milimani, Wamba, completed in July 2007, enabled the 30+ member Milimani Women's Group to undertake a sustainable community-supported farming project.  The group came together to enhance their daily income through small scale farming which is a step towards having an alternative means of livelihood rather than depending solely on...

NY TImes Features Usha

The M. NIght Shyamalan Foundation began talks to work with Usha, (subject of the NY TImes article linked here,) and her community back in 2006, when Nicholas Kristof ran this article.