Campaign Story

Meet 2 of the girls we have given the opportunity to receive our Kusasa Scholarship for 2019, these girls received an additional scholarship, due to their home circumstances, they have been allocated boarding school scholarships.

In Zimbabwe the school year runs from January to December and we have had the difficult task of choosing from over 20 candidates in one area to select those girls who meet our selection criteria of being girls who are underprivileged, at risk, have academic merit and who, without our support would otherwise not be able to access high school to continue their education.

These two girls are being removed from the home situation for several reasons, see below, and their out of school care, during holidays, will be undertaken by a local charity.  The burden of adding scholars as borders is that it costs 3x more than day scholars but in this instance we felt that the added costs were necessary to ensure that these two bright girls had a shot at a better future.

In the scholarships we not only undertake the costs of their schooling but we undertake, what we like to call school utilisation costs*, to ensure that they attend school just as well dressed and equipped as any of their counterparts.  This is important to boost their self-esteem, not be the target of bullying.  Our emphasis is on making these girls well-adjusted and successful in their schooling, and life, that they may progress their education to the highest standard.

*school utilisation costs include uniforms,socks, shoes, jersey, backpack, lunchbox, pens, pencils, books, exercise books, sanitary pads and probably underwear too.  For borders we seek to provide bed linen and other necessities.

At the time of selection and commitment to the girls we had sufficient funds to educate them for the full year, regrettably in October/November Zimbabwe suffered from hyper-inflation and costs have risen by up to 3 times the previous value.  As such we are now only able to cover their costs for the first term and must now find additional funding to enable us to educate them for the rest of the year, a further 2 terms.

Any donation you make will help us achieve our goal for 2019 and beyond.

About the Scholarship winners:

Sibusisu – a very bright girl coming top of her class and dedicated to her education as she sees it as the most positive way of improving her overall life and future.  Her mother deserted the family and the father is unemployed and has become an alcoholic and drug addict, the community has become concerned for her personal safety as a young girl of 13.  She has been accepted into a boarding school and we have made arrangements for her care during holidays to ensure that she can concentrate on her education.

Lianda – is a high performing student and eager to continue her education.  Her mother has passed away and her father is disabled and unemployed with a step-mother who has made her life exceptionally difficult.  She is regularly deprived of access to the family home, beaten and abused, for this reason we have decided to again place her in a boarding school where she can focus on her studies and relieve the family of her costs.

Your donation will help us keep these two girls in boarding school, ensure that they are cared for and able to focus on their schooling.  We are also seeking suitable mentors to be a Big Sister to the girls helping them with concerns and questions they may normally have addressed to their mother, to support them in becoming well adjusted and to reduce their stress.

Your support can change the world for a girl!