Fund College Access for USAP Zimbabwe Students

A year ago we were saying goodbye to our first cohort of Education Matters USAP students, and you donated to help pay for their enrollment costs - visa and SEVIS fees, immunizations, air tickets.  We are writing to report that after their first year at university, they are doing well and going strong!

We sent the USAP cohort a survey at the end of their freshman year and learned of their triumphs and challenges and their plans for relating their studies to future goals of making change at home and globally.  Some of them came back to the Continent this summer.  Three were part of the Zimbabwe Career Connect Internship Program, interning with companies and with non-profit organizations here in Zimbabwe.  Another came home with a research grant to look at how mbira music is part of social fabric and social change.  Yes another partnered with a Rwandan friend and an engineering professor to work on a hydroponics project for schools in Rwanda and eventually in Zimbabwe to be able to grow vegetables in their dining halls.

In our survey, 55% said they had changed their intended major after their first year of university and all of the exposure it had afforded.  In terms of deriving support while overseas from their USAP cohort, 45% of them said they are in touch with their cohort members daily with another 32% saying so weekly.   The survey detailed many achievements our students have reached in just their first year including academic prizes, paid internships, leadership positions, and invitations to conferences and innovation summits.

USAPers join us in being very grateful for your support, without which they wouldn't have been able to access top university educations.  One of our rising sophomores summarized his gratitude this way:

"I am always grateful that I was afforded this invaluable opportunity to come out of my environment, and get into a new one which is totally different from what I was used to. I value this experience and I believe that this is more than seeking an academic education, but it is developing a wholistic individual who is set apart form the crowd. The opportunities to make a difference in the world are many.  USAP is indeed a family, a home away from home.  I am very grateful."