Fund College Access for USAP Zimbabwe Students

A year ago we were saying goodbye to our first cohort of Education Matters USAP students, and you donated to help pay for their enrollment costs - visa and SEVIS fees, immunizations, air tickets.  We are writing to report that after their first year at university, they are doing well and going strong!

We sent the USAP cohort a survey at the end of their freshman year and learned of their triumphs and challenges and their plans for relating their studies to future goals of making change at home and globally.  Some of them came back to the Continent this summer.  Three were part of the Zimbabwe Career Connect Internship Program, interning with companies and with non-profit organizations here in Zimbabwe.  Another came home with a research grant to look at how mbira music is part of social fabric and social change.  Yes another partnered with a Rwandan friend and an engineering professor to work on a hydroponics project for schools in Rwanda and eventually in Zimbabwe to be able to grow vegetables in their dining halls.

In our survey, 55% said they had changed their intended major after their first year of university and all of the exposure it had afforded.  In terms of deriving support while overseas from their USAP cohort, 45% of them said they are in touch with their cohort members daily with another 32% saying so weekly.   The survey detailed many achievements our students have reached in just their first year including academic prizes, paid internships, leadership positions, and invitations to conferences and innovation summits.

USAPers join us in being very grateful for your support, without which they wouldn't have been able to access top university educations.  One of our rising sophomores summarized his gratitude this way:

"I am always grateful that I was afforded this invaluable opportunity to come out of my environment, and get into a new one which is totally different from what I was used to. I value this experience and I believe that this is more than seeking an academic education, but it is developing a wholistic individual who is set apart form the crowd. The opportunities to make a difference in the world are many.  USAP is indeed a family, a home away from home.  I am very grateful."

Accessing a college education for a qualified student should be a right, but it is still very much a priviledge. We are really pleased that with your help, we have made our financial goal of raising $25,000 over this past year to cover the student expenses needed for our first Education Matters cohort who are now in colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, Scotland, Ghana and Rwanda.   Your generous donations have enabled these students to access amazing educational opportunities by financing their application costs such as SAT fees and CSS financial aid application fees as well as the many hidden costs involved in enrolling, including visa fees, immunizations and air tickets. 

This fund also financed SAT fees for the second Education Matters USAP Cohort of 42 who are currently submitting their applications.  We are closing this project and launching a new $25,000 project for the second cohort's expenses, in time for Giving Tuesday on Nov 28.  We hope you will continue to support us with this new amazing group of USAP students hoping to start studies in 2018.

One of this year's USAP students recently wrote: "It's not even a whole semester yet, but my mind has been stretched in so many new ways.  My heart stays at home, though my body is here.  I can't wait to reunite all three."   

Our students' successes are your successes - we couldn't have done it without you. 

Links:

• http://www.edmattersafrica.org