2| November 2016. Education. The most powerful weapon to change the world.
Well said Nelson Mandela. Yet the world is 50 years behind in meeting targets on achieving universal access to education for everyone according to the latest Global Education Monitoring report from UNESCO.
Watipa is working to do something about this, through our new scholarship program to support young people in developing countries to study, and give back to their communities. The scholarships cover tuition fees and living expenses for 1-3 years, depending on the student’s need. We have already had 38 applications from 11 countries (Burundi, Ghana, India, Kenya, Malawi, Myanmar, Nepal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe).
The applicants for our scholarships describe bold dreams for their futures and high hopes about how they will contribute to their communities. Meet a few of the applicants (their names have been changed):
“After qualifying as a nurse and a midwife, I will be able to serve people of my area. I will be involved in educating, informing and empowering women.” Mary, 18, Malawi.
“For a long time I have been dreaming to serve my community. I have used my time to work with orphans and vulnerable children by supporting them while studying. It is still my dream for orphan children to see that the world is a better place for them.” John, 22, Tanzania.
“I aspire to become a lawyer: a social engineer to promote my society. My biggest dream is to create change in society through law and justice. I have always loved to work for community rebuilding.” Amala, 19, Nepal.
“The launch of the scholarship is a break through towards achieving my dream of attaining higher education. My parents are pastoralists. Studying will enable me to understand the devolved structure of government and its administrative frameworks, legal frameworks and policies for the promotion of good governance in my community.” Joseph, 21, Kenya.
We have raised more than £7,500 for the scholarships. THANK YOU. The support so far has been amazing. We hope to raise another £4,000 in November, so it’s not too late to add your donation. It’s inspiring to read through the applications and think that for a few young people (but unfortunately not all) we will really be able to make a difference in their lives.
Keep up-to-date with our thinking, work and new ideas through our latest blogs:
– Australia: The small steps that make the big things possible
– UK: Unexpected connections: big business
– Malawi: When being a bride is not a celebration
– Ireland & Poland: Power to the people
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