In line with our social enterprise funding model, Sarus is developing a unique line of programs designed to provide one-of-a-kind immersion experiences for visitors to Southeast Asia, while generating scholarship funds for lower-income students in Southeast Asia.

With our Lift Programs, registrants fully subsidize the cost of a student's participating in one of our Core Programs. It’s a bit like the Tom’s Shoes model, except for international education and peacebuilding programs. And, better yet, because we’re able to keep costs low, the price of a program to a Lift participant is still lower than the average market price for international education programs in Southeast Asia.

Our first Lift program, Designing for Social Innovation and Leadership (DSIL), is a collaboration with the UN-mandated University for Peace. In our inaugural year, nearly 40 social entrepreneurs from more than 15 countries converged for ten days in Bangkok and Phnom Penh to learn about how design thinking has been applied to social enterprise and peacebuilding efforts in this region. Participants visited a wide range of dynamic non-profits and social enterprises to learn from their experiences and apply these organizations’ lessons to their own social enterprises in their home countries. In addition to the immersion experience gained from the program, participants also became part of the rich and authentic DSIL community of social entrepreneurs. To learn more about DSIL, please visit the DSIL website.