Christopher Dowswell Scholarship Fund

Did you know YOU can help fund African women’s scholarships for ag extension education? Yes, you can!

On the weekend of September 29-30, a team of Winrock International staff members will bike more than 400 miles to collect donations for the Christopher Dowswell Scholarship. Launched by Winrock with initial financial support from the Dowswell family, the scholarship helps to increase the number of women in agricultural extension services in Africa. People from rural backgrounds with extensive field service are often lack the educational requirements to go to universities, barring them from promotions and holding back extension services as a whole. The scholarship financially supports African women pursuing degrees in Agricultural Extension, providing 50 percent of the estimated tuition and research support to 88 students in five African countries. By the end of next year, the fund aims to extend their scholarship to 100 women.

Winrock staff will participate both in the U.S. and in the field. In Washington D.C., two Winrockers will bike the Shenandoah Valley’s Alpine Loop; in Little Rock, one will bike the Big Dam Bridge 100; and in Mozambique, a team of ten will ride a collective 370 miles from Nampula to Meconta District.

Please show your support for our riders by making a donation. Together, we can make extension education more accessible and affordable for Africa’s women.

As a young girl growing up in Nigeria, Elizabeth lost everything. When her father died, his small plot of land was taken away from his family, leaving Elizabeth, her mother and six younger siblings struggling to get by.

“My younger ones and I had to survive,” Elizabeth says. With their mother’s help, they began working on other farms, managing to keep food on the table and school fees paid. In the fields, Elizabeth discovered something new: a love for and curiosity about agriculture.

“While working on those fields I noticed that some farms were growing better than the others, and I wondered why,” Elizabeth says. As a secondary school student, she posed the question to her agricultural science teacher, who chalked the difference up to lack of nutrients in some farms’ soil. Elizabeth, however, suspected that the disparity had a deeper cause – that with enough knowledge, the problems could be fixed.

This interest in agriculture continued into Elizabeth’s adult life. Not being able to afford a true university education, she applied to a federal college nearby and began working towards a degree in agricultural technology. As she worked toward her degree, her interactions with other students revealed another passion: communication and teaching. 

“I discovered my strength in communication and teaching,” she says. “As a result, I opted for Agricultural Extension and Farm Management for my Higher National Diploma.”

But in Nigeria, young people, especially women, without a university education are often marginalized, missing out on financial and social opportunities. With this in mind, Elizabeth saved 80 percent of her monthly allowance from the federal government towards her university education. With the help of the Christopher Dowswell Scholarship and Winrock International, she was able to complete her degree.

“When all my savings had finished into the third year of my university education, I was considering picking up menial jobs to pay my school fees, accommodation, project, computer and other bills,” she says. “Winrock International was my savior.”

Now, Elizabeth works as the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development Coordinator for Green Shield Integrated Technologies, an agricultural firm in Ondo State, Nigeria. Utilizing her passions for both teaching and agriculture, she provides marginalized rural women with the information and connections they need to improve their produce production and boost their income.

“I am living my goal and having a fulfilled life,” Elizabeth says.