Would you go to school if you had a scholarship?
April 26, 2013
At St. Therese's, the School Management Committee of parents, community members, and staff are in charge of deciding which students will be nominated for support by GambiaRising.
In the past year, they have gone further. They have visited families where children were not in school because they could not afford the uniform and fees, and asked if the family would be willing to send their child to school if they received a scholarship.
And so Khadijatou Jawo, whose father had died and whose mother had difficulty just providing a meal or two each day, started school at age 14. Now in 2nd grade, she is shy and she had trouble understanding my English. But there are so many things to be glad about in the short video I made of her.
She is in school. The community sought her out. Another student (off-camera) is sweetly helping her with the interview. And of course, at school she receives not only an education, social interaction, and self-esteem, but a hot meal every school day. The very short interview with Khadijatou can be seen here http://is.gd/KhadijatouJawo2013 .
The only thing missing is a sponsor. We gave her an emergency grant from our general fund, but we really need to find a long-term supporter for her to continue. If you can help her or any of the dozen or so students we still need sponsors for, please do so on our Donate page. No amount is too small.
At St. Therese's, the School Management Committee of parents, community members, and staff are in charge of deciding which students will be nominated for support by GambiaRising.
In the past year, they have gone further. They have visited families where children were not in school because they could not afford the uniform and fees, and asked if the family would be willing to send their child to school if they received a scholarship.
And so Khadijatou Jawo, whose father had died and whose mother had difficulty just providing a meal or two each day, started school at age 14. Now in 2nd grade, she is shy and she had trouble understanding my English. But there are so many things to be glad about in the short video I made of her.
She is in school. The community sought her out. Another student (off-camera) is sweetly helping her with the interview. And of course, at school she receives not only an education, social interaction, and self-esteem, but a hot meal every school day. The very short interview with Khadijatou can be seen here http://is.gd/KhadijatouJawo2013 .
The only thing missing is a sponsor. We gave her an emergency grant from our general fund, but we really need to find a long-term supporter for her to continue. If you can help her or any of the dozen or so students we still need sponsors for, please do so on our Donate page. No amount is too small.