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Help Aparajita stay in school!

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Hi everyone! my name is Aparajita Rao (Pari, for short) and I'm from Bangalore, India. I'm an undergraduate, international student studying Business Economics at Durham University in my final year.

Getting into Durham was a dream come true, 2 years ago, and I worked really hard to get here. Coming here has given me the greatest experience I could ever ask for and Durham has helped me grow in more ways than I can imagine! I hope to finish my education here someday and that's why I've come to you. I hope to someday be able to work for the United Nations as a Development expert!


My mother was funding my studies initially through our family business but after the economic downturn a while ago, she lost everything she had built and has had to begin from scratch, again. We've tried all sorts of scholarships and funds but to no avail. My family and friends have helped get me through the last year but the fee deadlines are back. My first deadline is December 1st and I have to pay University a first installment of 6431 GBP by December 1st, 2013. The following two installments are to be paid on 1st February and 1st of April, respectively.



I am working incredibly hard to achieve a 2.1 Honours at University;
I have received a 1000 GBP scholarship from Student Community Action for Social Work and am using that for my fee. (I get to work 7 hours a week on Media Relations for them. Yay, SCA!);
I interned over the holidays at Land Transport Authority in Singapore;
I interned for IBM in India over my Easter vacations;
I am Secretary General this year for Durham's annual Model United Nations;
I work as a Media Associate for Best Delegate;
I will be chairing the African Union at Cambridge Model UN;
I am a Volunteer Student Coordinator for Student Community Action;
I am helping create an organisation that works for the empowerment of women;
I am even doing my dissertation on women empowerment and development!


I really want to stay at University and finish my last year here. I love my subjects and I really want to use my education to dedicate my life to working with women and children. I used to want to be an investment banker but all my experiences over the last few years has changed me (and I believe for the best). I want to return all the help I have received by dedicating my life to society.
Coming from India, I have seen many terrible things. I have seen a lot of suffering and a lot of suppression. But I count myself lucky in that I have always had supportive parents, a loving brother and incredible friends. I grew up a whole, happy child. Today, this makes me want to work harder and harder. I want to help more children grow up in the type of environment that I did. This is why I must stay at University so I can use this to really do something.


If you've stayed this long in the message, thank you for reading. I am ever grateful. It's not usual for an Indian girl to ask for money on an online forum because these things are considered taboo in my culture. But my family believes in me and they said to me that there's no bigger deterrent to growth than ego. I thank you humbly for all the support you show and for this, I promise to spend my life being a change-maker.


Thank you,
Pari

Organizer

Aparajita Rao
Organizer

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