Christopher Dowswell Scholarship Fund

Small contributions given repeatedly and consistently can add up to big change over time. Such is the case with the Christopher Dowswell Scholarship Fund. Dowswell, aide-de-camp for three decades to Nobel Laureate and former Winrock board member Norman Borlaug, worked tirelessly to support smallholder farmers in Africa, particularly through agricultural extension. Launched by Winrock with initial financial support from Dowswell’s family after his death in 2011, the fund carries on Dowswell’s legacy by providing scholarships for degree training in agricultural extension, especially for women. 

Since 2013, the Christopher Dowswell Scholarship Fund has awarded 89 scholarships to women in Benin, Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria and Tanzania. To date, 69 of these scholars have graduated. The other 19 women who received funding through the program continue to make satisfactory academic progress. By the end of 2020, the program aims to extend scholarships to 100 women. 

The experience of Dowswell scholar named Lucia is typical of the program’s recipients. Lucia says her scholarship helped her “to fulfill my dreams.”

“I feel blessed to be given the opportunity,” Lucia says. “It is a prestigious honor to me. The fund helped me to pay tuition and other fees including stationery and meal expenses.”

One of the obstacles to good extension services is that those from rural backgrounds, with extensive field service, are unable to gain the educational requirements to go to universities, and thus to gain a promotion. Your support continues to make an impact by enabling these scholars to apply what they have learned to improve agricultural practices in their communities. The lessons they learn will lead to increased food production and rising incomes, and thus help to address the issues of poverty and hunger.