Start-Up Fund for USAP Zambia
Donation protected
I am happy to announce that I am extending my stay in Zambia beyond my Princeton in Africa fellowship to open a branch of a college access program called USAP. I find it the perfect bridge between my last position, advising African students on scholarship at UC Berkeley, and my current one, working with a small Zambian NGO to help vulnerable student access quality secondary school education.
There are many determined and talented, economically-disadvantaged students in Zambia who lack only financial resources and access to information to better their educational futures. Likewise, there are many international institutions looking to recruit and finance qualified students to pursue degrees and develop skills needed in the communities they come from. It is simply a matter of connecting deserving students with these opportunities. In addition to benefitting the students and their country, I've also seen firsthand the great value they add to the institutions they go on to attend.
USAP, which began in 1999 in Zimbabwe, seeks to identify highly qualified and motivated, low-income students, and supports them to negotiate the admissions process for international universities. I am receiving training and guidance from the founder and have many supportive partners here in Zambia to help establish and run the program. This first year, we are in the process of recruiting 10-15 students to make up our first cohort.
Why we need your help: We are currently in the process of registering in Zambia, and applying for funding from several local corporate sponsors and foundations who support our mission. However, in order to prepare our first cohort to apply this coming fall, we need to run our 7-day orientation and SAT boot camp this April. Although we have secured a free space and qualified volunteers, there are a few remaining costs to get us off the ground, in order of priority: SAT study materials ($440), food during the bootcamp ($60), transport for students to attend camp ($200), SAT registration costs due by April 7 ($800).
We are grateful for anything you can give to support this cause as it gets off the ground! Please let me know if you would like to stay in touch and hear about the successes of our students moving forward.
There are many determined and talented, economically-disadvantaged students in Zambia who lack only financial resources and access to information to better their educational futures. Likewise, there are many international institutions looking to recruit and finance qualified students to pursue degrees and develop skills needed in the communities they come from. It is simply a matter of connecting deserving students with these opportunities. In addition to benefitting the students and their country, I've also seen firsthand the great value they add to the institutions they go on to attend.
USAP, which began in 1999 in Zimbabwe, seeks to identify highly qualified and motivated, low-income students, and supports them to negotiate the admissions process for international universities. I am receiving training and guidance from the founder and have many supportive partners here in Zambia to help establish and run the program. This first year, we are in the process of recruiting 10-15 students to make up our first cohort.
Why we need your help: We are currently in the process of registering in Zambia, and applying for funding from several local corporate sponsors and foundations who support our mission. However, in order to prepare our first cohort to apply this coming fall, we need to run our 7-day orientation and SAT boot camp this April. Although we have secured a free space and qualified volunteers, there are a few remaining costs to get us off the ground, in order of priority: SAT study materials ($440), food during the bootcamp ($60), transport for students to attend camp ($200), SAT registration costs due by April 7 ($800).
We are grateful for anything you can give to support this cause as it gets off the ground! Please let me know if you would like to stay in touch and hear about the successes of our students moving forward.
Organizer
Jessica Clarkson
Organizer
Arroyo Grande, CA