My name is Jon Pearce. I am a professor who has been involved in many international programs during my career. A fellow academic in Kenya recently reached out to me asking if I could help raise tuition funds for Ian Lumiti, a promising student from rural Kenya.

Ian is 18. He is the oldest of five children. His parents are subsistence farmers who paid his high school tuition by collecting firewood for the school. Despite the hardships of poverty, Ian has a spark that I recognize in our correspondence. In high school he excelled on the Kenyan National Exam, learned French in his spare time, and got accepted as a Nursing major at Uzima University, one of the best medical schools in Kenya. Unfortunately, he is struggling to pay his tuition and living expenses.

I lived and taught in Africa for several years, so I am acutely aware that there are millions of stories like Ian's. There are good charities that try to help kids in Africa, and they all deserve our donations. But this is an opportunity to help an individual who has fought back against his poverty. An individual who will almost certainly give back to his community. An individual with a flame of intellect that we can fan.