By MARILYN MCDOWELL
for SALT SPRING CFUW
Educate a young woman and you educate a whole family. So believes the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW).
The Salt Spring chapter of CFUW awards “second chance bursaries” to women in the Gulf Islands who are out of school for at least two years and wish to pursue education to improve a career choice, and in most cases support a family. Internationally, a project called HOPE sponsors girls in developing countries for secondary education by paying for school fees, books and uniforms.
Our HOPE project began in 2005 with three students and since has multiplied; a total of more than 250 teenaged girls have received sponsorships in 13 countries in Africa, Central America and the Caribbean, the Indian subcontinent and South East Asia, as well as Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the Solomon Islands. These 250 girls have been supported by Salt Springers.
As funding covers only school expenses, families make sacrifices when daughters choose school over work or early marriage. Each girl requires between $540 and $710 in Canadian dollars per year, some a bit less, depending on the country.
The HOPE project is life changing. Letters from each girl and her headmistress are required for application, with progress reports required each year before continuation. These letters are compelling:
Clare in Nigeria “has a passion to look after patients, hopes to become a nurse,” states a report.
Rose Marie in Namibia said, “Both parents lost their jobs and father abandoned family of six. Commonwealth Girls Education Fund (CGEF) sponsorship enabled me to continue schooling toward becoming an accountant. During school holidays my job as a babysitter helps mother with expenses.”
Muknaan, who lives in Nigeria, said, “I want to be a lawyer, combat injustice and corruption in Nigeria and ensure all are treated equally and offenders punished! I also want to establish a school for girls at an affordable price.”
Katarina, of the diminishing Hadzbe hunter/gatherer tribe in Tanzania, said she “aims to become a civil engineer, to bring change and development in my community: houses, clinics, schools, roads, bridges.” Infrastructure is needed all over the less developed world.
Elizabeth in Tanzania, like others, identifies many problems in her home community. Elizabeth said she “stays at school during school holidays to avoid being pressed into early marriage.”
To educate a girl is to educate a family. Adelaide in Kenya points out, “Your intervention in my studies has been nothing short of life changing.”
A recent development has been formation of alumnae groups of young women who have embarked upon their careers. Feedback from Marion in Uganda includes gratitude for financial help throughout secondary school. Marion secured a government scholarship to study civil engineering at Makerere University and currently works as a civil engineer at a construction firm in Kampala. She endeavours “to reach out to as many young girls as I can through mentorship and career guidance as a way of carrying the kindness forward.”
These alumnae support each other and mentor their younger aspirants.
Our HOPE project works in partnership with the CGEF, founded in 1967 by a small group of women in England, including Lyndsay Mundy, who moved to Salt Spring and spearheaded the project dubbed HOPE, which works through CGEF.
This English charity is almost entirely volunteer run. CGEF assumes all administrative costs and provides local contacts for screening and monitoring. That means all donations made from Salt Spring are directed entirely to school fees, books and school uniforms. In addition to donations from the club and its individual members, support is invited from individuals and businesses of our community.
So far this year there are 55 potential candidates approved for funding, with 22 applications pending. If you would like to sponsor a girl (or two), or provide partial support, and receive a copy of their photo and letters of application and progress, please consider a donation — a meaningful gift for someone who has everything or someone who is receiving your help with their own education. It’s an inspiration to study diligently!
Even a portion of the $540 to $710 annual sponsorship amount would help enormously. In the poorest countries, $145 could sponsor one of four girls in Sierra Leone; $210 sponsors one in 10 girls in Malawi; or $260 allows one of the three girls in Namibia to continue her education.
Our CFUW Salt Spring branch has received an award for International Relations and Certificate of Merit for International Women’s Day for the HOPE project.
People who are interested in learning more about CFUW on Salt Spring, or would like to join our monthly get-togethers, are invited to contact Kay Woodhouse at 250-653-4927. For more information about the HOPE project, contact Sandra Hyslop at 250-537-4568.