Help Shuvai Study

PLEASE SEE MOST RECENT UPDATE. I am now fundraising for Shuvai to attend a Master's program in International Development Studies within Zimbabwe.

Shuvai is from Zimbabwe and last year was accepted to the Diploma Program in Development Leadership at the Coady International Institute at St. FX in Antigonish. Though Shuvai has experienced a lot of success in her career in the non-profit sector, the current unemployment rate in Zimbabwe is at 95% and she had to defer her acceptance to 2018. I'll let her tell you who she is and why she would like to attend: 

"My name is Shuvai Mandigo and I am a development practitioner with 8 years experience in the sector. My ambition is to make a difference for the society in a positive way that is helping and giving hope to the hopeless. Most of my community development experience has been in Zimbabwe and I have conducted some work assignments in Canada. I have worked on various development projects, namely the Girl Education Challenge project which sought to Improve Girls' Access through Transforming Education, Girls empowerment projects which focused on child protection issues, abuse reporting mechanisms and child rights.  Over the past years, I have dealt with many cases of child abuse, provided psycho-social support to those in distress as well taking the girl child through various stages of empowerment. This has instilled in me the desire to continue working on the development field so that I can bring change in the lives of those I come into contact with.

I was accepted to attend the Coady International Institute 2017 Diploma in Development Leadership which is a 20-week Diploma in Development Leadership. The program is designed for citizen leaders who are passionate about creating positive change in their communities. The Diploma program strengthens participants’ capacity to confront issues facing development and social justice practitioners and to propose pragmatic strategies for change. However, due to financial constraints I was forced to defer the offer to next year so that I can raise funds to cover the amount balance as well as the airfare to and from Canada. Zimbabwe is currently going through an economic crisis which has had ripple effects on the job market. Without a job or any source of income in such a bad market, it is proving to be very difficult to raise the required amount of money.

Participating in this program would provide me an excellent opportunity to broaden my knowledge on development leadership. As a development practitioner, I need to gain wider leadership, gender and research skills that are quite imperative for my efficiency in working as a development practitioner."

Any amount, no matter how small, will help Shuvai reach her admirable goals. I hope you will give to this worthwhile cause! The majority of the money raised will be given directly to the Coady Institute to cover the reamining tuition fees - this amounts to $4800 (she receives a scholarship to cover the majority of the fees). The remaining amount will go to cover the cost of her airfare from Johannesburg to Halifax.

UPDATE: This year the Coady Institute offered a travel grant to Shuvai, which means we no longer have to cover her airfare! I've reduced the goal to reflect this!