By Ngaire McCubben | Communications, Ext.Relations & Fundraising,TZ
Eliakunda graduated from Enaboishu Secondary School in Northern Tanzania in 2013. She had been one of the most dedicated of our Kisa Program students, demonstrating creativity, commitment, and great aptitude. It was, therefore, not a difficult decision to make when she applied to AfricAid’s University Scholarship Fund for support to allow her to accept the place she had been offered at St Augustine University of Tanzania.
Eliakunda is the first in her family to go to university. She comes from a farming area on the lower slopes of Mt Meru in Northern Tanzania and her family are subsistence farmers, who often struggle to make ends meet. This was especially true after Eliakunda’s father passed away when she was a child. Her mother worked very hard, and with some additional outside help, was able to send her youngest daughter to secondary school. Supporting her to go to university, however, was going to prove too much of a stretch, even though this bright young woman had worked so hard to gain a place in the Bachelor of Arts (Sociology) program.
This is where the AfricAid Scholarship Fund can really make a difference to an individual’s future. Each year we accept applications from young women like Eliakunda for a partial scholarship. The amount awarded to each successful applicant is normally about $500 per year of study – the family raises the rest. The scholarship is paid directly to the university to partially cover the cost of tuition.
What is a relatively small amount of money has had a large impact on the course of a young woman’s life – a young woman who we have no doubt will be a great role model and inspiration to other young women who struggle for a brighter future. And the only reason AfricAid is able to do this is because of donors like you. We have only reached about 10% of our target so far, but we hope to reach it so that we can say ‘yes’ to more young women like Eliakunda. Thank you so much for helping us get there.
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