Holistic School Sponsorship for 20+ Swati Students

This will be the final report issued before the Holistic School Sponsorship project is updated on GlobalGiving. It is time to update the project page to reflect current times. It was not already done because the pandemic left lots of room for uncertainty last year. We now have answers to many questions we had about this project last year, but there are still some things that remain uncertain even now, a year later.

Moya Centre did move forward with paying all bursary fees for our students in 2020. This was necessary to keep the teachers paid, and also to keep the schools running for Form 3 and 5 students, and also to ensure other students received lessons through distance learning. School took place almost exclusively through lessons given over the radio and television throughout 2020. For Form 3 and 5, they did return to the classroom late in the year to prepare for exams, and exams were conducted. We were pleasantly surprised with the results, considering the unprecedented difficulties students faced last year. For Form 3, all 33 of our students sat of exams and only two failed. 25 Form 5 students also sat for exams, with no failures and 13 having done exceptionally well. We are very proud of the resilience our students showed throughout 2020, and continue to show now.

As we begin March of 2021, schools are still not open for the year, as a partial lockdown remains in place. Yet school is expected to open soon and Moya is preparing for that. We have at least 25 spots open for our holistic sponsorship, as that is how many Form 5 students completed school, and therefore the program through Moya. We will also be conducting a re-application process for those going into Form 4, to assess those who are committed to the entire program, and to also replace those who failed, as Moya does not continue to sponsor students who fail unless there is a circumstance that truly warrants a second chance.

We are very happy to report that this project has raised 90% of its goal. However, this goal was for the year 2020, and those 20+ students were sponsored through GlobalGiving and additional funding. Now we are looking to Sponsor 20+ new students, which realistically puts us back at the starting point each year. We will update the project to reflect this, but with all the recurring donors, we do not want to erase this project and start new, as those of you generous enough to give monthly know exactly what you are still giving to.

As always, we thank you for your support, and hope that you will take the time to read the updated project which will be posted on GlobalGiving within the coming weeks.

Note- We will include pictures in the next pdate as students have not yet been selected.