Help Women Access Education During Pandemic

Succeeding in Difficult Circumstances 

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on people and their access to education around the world.

Worldwide cases of COVID-19 are nearing 275 million, with 1,101,195 new cases reported in the last 7 days. 543,414 of these have been reported in the last 24 hours alone! (These are just official numbers, meaning that there are likely many, many more.)

The good news is that approximately 44% of the world’s population has been “fully vaccinated”. The bad news is that what it means to be "fully" vaccinated changes daily as new variants of concern are identified which evade vaccine protections. The access to vaccines has also been uneven - meaning that in many parts of the world, very tiny percentages of the population have been vaccinated even as case numbers continue to rise. COVID-19 continues to disrupt access to education and to create additional challenges and barriers for women working to complete their degrees.

Although their situations continue to be difficult, the three women featured here continue to strive for excellence and to succeed despite the difficult circumstances!

Liberia COVID Situation

• Cases have increased by 467% in last 7 days
• Started vaccinations: April 1, 2021
• 14.93 persons fully vaccinated per 100 population

Maryline

• Continues to work while attending school.
• Elected as Vice President for Administration of the Environmental Science Student Association (ESSA).
• Successfully completed her Sophomore year as a major in Environmental Sciences.
• Completed coursework in: Conservation and Protected Area Management, Calculus, Human Environmental Interaction, Environmental Health & Safety Management, and more!

Burundi COVID Situation

• Cases have increased by 485% in last 7 days
• Started vaccinations: Oct. 18, 2021
• .03 persons fully vaccinated per 100 population

Evelyne

• Continues to collaborate with a local organization advocating for those with disabilities: Appui aux Initiatives des Personnes Handicapées (AIPH).
• With your generous support, she was able to purchase a computer to assist with her online coursework.

South Sudan COVID Situation

• Cases have increased by 1.09k% in last 7 days
• Started vaccinations: April 6, 2021
• 1.62 persons fully vaccinated per 100 population

Fortunately, Jackline is able to attend a university in Uganda where the COVID-19 situation is slightly better.

Uganda COVID Situation

• Cases have increased by (only!) 261% in last 7 days
• Started vaccinations: March 10, 2021
• 3.08 persons fully vaccinated per 100 population

Jackline

• Due to COVID-19, exams for both Spring 2020 and Fall 2020 were conducted online in Spring 2021. Despite the extreme delay, she successfully passed them all. This is on top of her role as a single mother with extended family (13 siblings) to support!
• She must access an internet facility for basic online interactions such as Zoom. This has been an ongoing challenge as much of her program was online prior to COVID! She noted: “As a distance learning student whose learning depended solely on internet connections, this has been so challenging during the lockdown as cafes had to close, the few options became more expensive and not so effective for download and upload of documents.” Fortunately, we have been able to support her and she continues to succeed. 
• She is currently pursuing an internship while conducting a research project.

These amazing women remind us of what resilience looks like! Their continued success in the face of adversity serves as a source of inspiration to women in their families, in their communities, and around the world! Help us continue to support them!

COVID-19 Data Source: https://covid19.who.int (Accessed December 21, 2021.)