JAAS Foundation

Our impact

Creating opportunity where none exists

Ten years of projects in seven countries, photographed by the volunteers, teachers and families who made them happen. Every picture below is ours.

UgandaColombiaVenezuelaKenyaEthiopiaSri LankaWashington StateUkraineUNICEF
A large crowd of students waving and cheering in front of a partner school building in Uganda
Students working at desktop computers in a school computer lab in Uganda
Students laughing together around donated laptops at a computer club in Uganda
Students in Colombia using the distance learning portal on classroom computers
Bags of food packed and ready for distribution to families in Uganda during COVID-19
Students and their teacher in Venezuela holding up English program certificates
Jane Sinyagin with students in school uniforms at a partner school in Uganda
A family in Uganda with food supplies and a handwritten thank you sign for the JAAS Foundation
Volunteers delivering donated laptops to the World Relief office in Seattle
A volunteer setting up donated laptops with students in a school library in Uganda
A classroom of young students in maroon uniforms smiling during a school visit
A volunteer carrying bags of donated supplies outside a community center in Colombia
A student playing a free educational learning game on a desktop computer
An outdoor school assembly of students in blue and green uniforms in Uganda
Children in Uganda holding handwritten signs thanking the JAAS Foundation after a relief delivery
Students in school uniforms posing with JAAS volunteers after a program session
Families and volunteers gathered together at a community program site
A boy presenting on a laptop to a room of children at a community learning session
Hundreds of students gathered outdoors holding printed learning materials in Uganda
A volunteer handing bags of food to a family in Uganda during the pandemic
Aleksey Sinyagin showing a group of students how to use a donated desktop computer in a school in Uganda

What the projects have in common

Four kinds of work, one idea

The countries and the needs change. What does not change is that we go where we are needed, hand opportunity directly to a person, and keep overhead close to zero because the whole team volunteers.

Technology and connectivity

Donated laptops and desktops, restored equipment, school internet access and computer labs, so a classroom is no longer cut off from the rest of the world.

Education and English learning

Free e-learning portals, volunteer-built literacy games, ESL classes, mentoring and certification programs, plus direct tuition for students who ran out of options.

Relief when the need changed

Food, water, thermometers and sanitation for students and families during COVID-19, cash mini-grants to refugee families in Washington, generators and first necessities for Ukraine, plus $74,000 in UNICEF funding to support children globally.

Youth sports at home

Our newest program pays registration fees, cleats, gear and travel for Washington families, directly to the club or the store.

Completed projects

Where we have worked

Uganda

Most of our longest-running work sits here. We funded a full year of school internet access, set up computer labs and donated laptops, ran computer clubs that trained hundreds of students, and supported teachers through digital literacy certification. When the pandemic closed schools, the same partners distributed food, water and sanitation supplies to students and their families.

Colombia

Working with local educators and refugee families, we brought free e-learning and mentoring to children whose schooling had been interrupted, along with donated devices and supplies for community learning sessions.

Venezuela

We restored school equipment, funded English and digital literacy classes that ended in certificates students could actually use, and connected classrooms to free distance learning and volunteer mentors.

Kenya

We introduced technology and learning tools to schools moving to a competency-based curriculum, and funded a teenager's high school education so she could keep working toward becoming a doctor.

Ethiopia

Where the story began. A 2016 volunteer trip with Microsoft's My Skills For Africa program turned into the foundation, and into the first classrooms we equipped with modern learning technology.

Sri Lanka

Primary schools adopted our free learning portal to give students reasons and tools to continue past the primary stage.

Washington State

Home. We delivered laptops to refugee summer camps with World Relief Seattle, sent cash mini-grants to families in the first weeks of COVID-19, partnered with high school students building literacy games, and today fund youth sports grants so cost never decides which kids get to play.

Ukraine

When the war in Ukraine displaced families, we shipped generators and first necessities, and supported talented young people from Ukraine through art projects.

UNICEF

In 2023 we began a close partnership with UNICEF, donating $10,000, followed by $25,000 in 2024 and $39,000 in 2025 to support children globally through UNICEF's programs.

Previous Grantees

Organizations selected to receive support from JAAS Foundation

Congratulations to the organizations selected to receive support from JAAS Foundation. Your work does make a difference in the lives of children around the world.

Shammah High School

Luwero, Uganda

Alpha and Omega School

Luwero, Uganda

Maria Cano School

Medellin, Colombia

Las Cometas

Medellin, Colombia

Liceo Libertador

Venezuela

Summer Camp Program, World Relief

Washington, US

Help and Hope Centers

Cucuta, Colombia

What is JAAS?

The Sinyagin family story, our values and the full timeline from 2016 to today.

Read our story →

Youth soccer grants

Washington families can apply for help with registration, cleats, gear and travel.

See how to apply →

Support the next project

We are all volunteers, so a gift becomes a laptop, a school meal or a season on the field.

Donate →