John Grabowski has spent 25 years of his life working for the international charity Save the Children in Africa. He grew up in Needham, Massachusetts and now serves as the country director for Save the Children's programs in Mozambique. Through programs like building preschools, Save the Children aims to improve children's lives through education and healthcare. A major boost to their preschool program came from donations generated by the American Idol television show. So far they have built 96 preschools across Mozambique, providing education to children who otherwise would not have access to school.

1. By Will Bradford, Needham Times, August 6, 2008
When John Grabowski turns 50 this year, the occasion will be more momentous than a typical
birthday. When that day comes, Grabowski, the country office director of Mozambique for the
international charity organization Save the Children, will have spent 25 years of his life in the United
States and the other 25 in Africa.
“The real drawback of this profession is that you do not have that much direct contact with family,” he
said. “[My wife and I] definitely miss that close contact with parents, brothers, sisters, nieces and
nephews, but we don’t look back on our 25 years with that much regret. The line of work I’m in is
very gratifying.”
Save the Children, or Save for short, aims to improve the lives of children in underdeveloped countries
through education and health care. Long before it was Grabowski’s job to preach the importance of
early education to families and build preschools in a developing African nation, he sat in the
classrooms of Needham’s public schools.
“Back when I was in Needham, I have vague memories of nursery school and kindergarten. I was at
Broadmeadow School. Is that still there?” said Grabowski, a 1976 graduate of Needham High School.
“That’s where I went to kindergarten. Certainly, I don’t think I can claim that that made all the
difference in my life, the chance to go to preschool or kindergarten, but I think I can rightfully say it
had an impact on who I was and who I became.”
Unlike some of the 27 other countries in which Save works, the Mozambican Ministry of Education has
no preschool curriculum, making Save’s work all the more groundbreaking. The program is garnering
so much publicity that the World Bank is conducting a study in collaboration with the organization’s
preschool program to assess the impact of preschool and kindergarten as students progress through
primary and elementary school.
“Sometimes these countries have shown reluctance to [accept] Western help, but this ministry is so
excited. I’ve never seen them so excited about something new. Next week, the minister of education
himself is coming out to see one of our preschools. And the children are like sponges. They’re exposed
so little, the minute you introduce something new, they want to learn more and more. They truly are
dying to get the chance.”
Although the organization has been around since 1919, the preschool program received a huge boost
only last year. Fans of the reality show “American Idol” may remember a two-episode program in
2007, “Idol Gives Back.” The object of the benefit concert was to use the show’s popularity to raise
recognition and money for underprivileged children worldwide, and Save was one of the charities
chosen to receive proceeds from the show. The benefit had astounding success, bringing in more than
$70 million total, with $13.5 million going to Save the Children and, according to Grabowski, $1.5
million going to Mozambique alone.
“The show was fantastic opportunity to expose a lot of people who otherwise wouldn’t have a clue,” he
said. “I wish more programming in the states would take on a lead of showing their viewers
perspective and understanding of what it’s like in a country like Mozambique and Angola.”
Largely through the donations of “Idol Gives Back,” Save has erected 96 preschools in 42 different
communities in Mozambique.
“It’s fantastic that through ‘American Idol’ we’ve been able to build a significant number of these

2. preschools where these kids wouldn’t be able to go to school otherwise,” Grabowski said.
Whether the genocide in Darfur, the recent earthquake in India or the seemingly constant conflict in
the Middle East, Americans have sometimes been accused of ignoring international issues and not
contributing enough in terms of international donation and support. But Grabowski doesn’t see it that
way.
“What it comes down to, and this is true for human beings in general, is that when you have no
perspective on a particular lifestyle, it’s really difficult to grasp, no matter how good the person is at
describing the challenges faced,” he said. “As a result, with an exception of our immediate family who
have come and visited us and seen firsthand, without having that experience, it is difficult to
understand how difficult life can be in a developing country. It’s almost as were living on two different
planets.”
In his 25 years in Africa, he’s spent only the last 10 in Mozambique. Previously, through work in the
Peace Corps, he lived in Egypt and the Cape Verde Islands.
Over the years, Grabowski has developed a reputation as a tremendous worker with an ambition to
improve others’ lives.
“John is the right combination of commitment, concern, personality and experience,” said Rick Stoner,
former Africa area director and Grabowski’s former boss. “We brought him back to Mozambique to pull
together the Saves of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway [into one unit]. It is quite an
achievement.”
The Grabowskis manage to cross the Atlantic to get to their house in Chapel Hill, N.C., once or twice a
year to see family. As much as he loves life in Africa, Grabowski has no complaints about the time he
spends in America.
“We enjoy the lifestyle during the time were back in the states,” he said. “We take advantage of all
the conveniences Americans have at their fingertips, because the 11 other months of the year, we
don’t have those conveniences.”