ZAMBIA CONNECT
Donation protected
Tallahassee Natives Building Connections, Stories, and Communities
Livingstone, Zambia, June 25, 2015 — Tallahassee natives are teaming up to help raise money to sponsor young scholars in Livingstone, Zambia. Amanda Ichite, an Alumni of Florida State University and current Masters of Public Health candidate at the University of South Florida, Calvin Dennis, Florida State University School alum and the CEO of The Hope Connect, and Kylie Alexis, Spelman College Alum and CEO of Priceless One will be partnering together to raise $6,000 for their Zambia Connect Outreach Project (ZCOP).
The ZCOP plans to sponsor young scholars in Livingstone by providing them with school fees and the funds needed to purchase the necessary school supplies required for them to continue their education. In Livingstone, government schools are supposed to be free. When the government does not have sufficient funds to support a school, the financial responsibility falls on parents and teachers. For this reason alone, most teachers in Livingstone are volunteers, dropout rates are high, and literacy rates are low. Students are often sent home when they cannot afford their school fees, uniforms, and exercise books which is not only disruptive to the child’s education but to their self esteem as well. While ZCOP’s focus is education, they would also like to contribute to established community development and medical initiatives in Zambia. Organizations like, MedShare Atlanta have joined forces with the ZCOP to send medical supplies to the understaffed hospitals and clinics in Livingstone, Zambia with limited resources.
Amanda comes from a family full of ambition. Her sisters, Andrea Ichite, former president of African Student Association, and Elizabeth Ichite, 2015 All American scholar athlete, have all proven to be strong leaders at Florida State University and in the Tallahassee community. Amanda’s frequent social media updates regarding her fieldwork in Livingstone, Zambia and Dennis’ knowledge of her passion for service are some of the things that immediately attracted him to her cause. Amanda spoke of the origin of her desire to serve, “I visited Nigeria for the first time when I was 17 and cried the first night after I visited the village. At the time, I wasn’t aware of what health disparities and vulnerable populations were, I just saw so much need and my heart ached because I was not in a position to do anything about it. Since then, I have always had a soft spot for developing countries and decided to pursue a career path that would put me in the position to make a sustainable impact in the lives of people in need.”
The Hope Connect is a platform where stories are built through the community. Through their various community service outreach programs, they plan to continue to support causes like Ichite’s and add hope to the stories of those in need. So far, ZCOP has been able to purchase uniforms, socks, shoes, exercise books, and pens for 5 Zambian children whose sponsors defaulted on their sponsorship commitments. “I refuse to be passive about advocating for the educational needs of these children, afterall they are the future,” Dennis said.
To help support the Zambia Connect Outreach Project, please visit:www.Gofundme.com/ZambiaConnect.
Livingstone, Zambia, June 25, 2015 — Tallahassee natives are teaming up to help raise money to sponsor young scholars in Livingstone, Zambia. Amanda Ichite, an Alumni of Florida State University and current Masters of Public Health candidate at the University of South Florida, Calvin Dennis, Florida State University School alum and the CEO of The Hope Connect, and Kylie Alexis, Spelman College Alum and CEO of Priceless One will be partnering together to raise $6,000 for their Zambia Connect Outreach Project (ZCOP).
The ZCOP plans to sponsor young scholars in Livingstone by providing them with school fees and the funds needed to purchase the necessary school supplies required for them to continue their education. In Livingstone, government schools are supposed to be free. When the government does not have sufficient funds to support a school, the financial responsibility falls on parents and teachers. For this reason alone, most teachers in Livingstone are volunteers, dropout rates are high, and literacy rates are low. Students are often sent home when they cannot afford their school fees, uniforms, and exercise books which is not only disruptive to the child’s education but to their self esteem as well. While ZCOP’s focus is education, they would also like to contribute to established community development and medical initiatives in Zambia. Organizations like, MedShare Atlanta have joined forces with the ZCOP to send medical supplies to the understaffed hospitals and clinics in Livingstone, Zambia with limited resources.
Amanda comes from a family full of ambition. Her sisters, Andrea Ichite, former president of African Student Association, and Elizabeth Ichite, 2015 All American scholar athlete, have all proven to be strong leaders at Florida State University and in the Tallahassee community. Amanda’s frequent social media updates regarding her fieldwork in Livingstone, Zambia and Dennis’ knowledge of her passion for service are some of the things that immediately attracted him to her cause. Amanda spoke of the origin of her desire to serve, “I visited Nigeria for the first time when I was 17 and cried the first night after I visited the village. At the time, I wasn’t aware of what health disparities and vulnerable populations were, I just saw so much need and my heart ached because I was not in a position to do anything about it. Since then, I have always had a soft spot for developing countries and decided to pursue a career path that would put me in the position to make a sustainable impact in the lives of people in need.”
The Hope Connect is a platform where stories are built through the community. Through their various community service outreach programs, they plan to continue to support causes like Ichite’s and add hope to the stories of those in need. So far, ZCOP has been able to purchase uniforms, socks, shoes, exercise books, and pens for 5 Zambian children whose sponsors defaulted on their sponsorship commitments. “I refuse to be passive about advocating for the educational needs of these children, afterall they are the future,” Dennis said.
To help support the Zambia Connect Outreach Project, please visit:www.Gofundme.com/ZambiaConnect.
Organizer
Calvin Dennis
Organizer
Tallahassee, FL
