Send 5 Youth to College

For the past eight years, with your support, we have provided educational assistance to our student Levix, first to enable him to attend secondary (high) school and then to join Tangaza University's teacher training college where he is close to graduation.

This year, following in the footsteps of another St. Vincent student, Levix had the esteemed privilege to take a break from his studies at Tangaza and study abroad with the Institute of Shipboard Education's Semester at Sea program. As the first ever Tutu Ubuntu Scholar (named for Archbishop Desmond Tutu), Levix received full external support to participate in the program, sailing around the world on the MV Odyssey to 10 countries across Asia, Africa and Europe while studying. 

While the transition was not necessarily an easy one, Levix clearly had as much impact on the program (which just wrapped up in Amsterdam yesterday!) as it had on him. He had this to say about his experience: 

I was born in the Kibera slum of Nairobi and grew up with a single parent from a very, very humble background. We couldn’t pay for primary or high school, and I had to find scholarships and missionaries to support my education. There were times when we were homeless or nearly homeless, and I had to work very hard for everything that I have done in my life.

Three years ago, through your support, a young Kenyan student from Kibera began pursuing her goal of attending university at the United States International University in Nairobi where she studies international diplomacy. A terrific accomplishment considering that a mere 3% of all girls in Kenya make it to tertiary education. Chances are even lower for children growing up in the impoverished Kibera slum.

Maureen is a poised and passionate young woman that has overcome significant hurdles in her life. She comes from one of the most renowned slums in the world where residents lack basic necessities and rates of violence (particularly against women) are soaring; she lost her single mother at age 6; and she has spent her adolescence growing up in an institution. Despite all of this – or perhaps as a result of it – she has found a way to persevere both academically and personally.

I met Maureen five years ago as a volunteer with St. Vincent's Rescue Center where she lives. I was immediately impressed by her strong and curious demeanor and her interest in the world -- despite having never travelled outside of Kenya. I got to know Maureen more and more over the years through several visits to Kibera – watching her grow and evolve as a role model to her siblings at the rescue center.  

As an alumni of the Semester at Sea program, I knew it would be an experience of a lifetime for Maureen considering her passion for global development issues. I sailed on Semester at Sea as a student and as a staff member and it is an experience that forever changed my life (and I undoubtedly shared my love of the program with Maureen time and again over the past 5 years)!  Semester At Sea is a study abroad experience like no other. Students travel to 11 countries across 4 continents while studying aboard a ship with faculty, staff, students and lifelong learners from across the globe.

Despite it being a perfect fit for Maureen, with its hefty price tag, I didn’t think participating in the program was actually within the realm of possibility for her. However, when Maureen learned about a full-funded scholarship offered by Semester at Sea, she was dead set on applying. Full funding would be the only way she could participate. It was a huge long shot, but worth a try.

Maureen worked diligently over several months to prepare her application for a scholarship to join the Fall 2016 voyage. When she learned that she had been accepted only for a partial tuition scholarship, she was devastated to have to withdraw her student application. But Maureen refused to give up – deciding to reapply for the Spring 2017 voyage.  In September 2016, again after much hard work (this time she applied for every scholarship for which she was eligible), Maureen learned that she was awarded $20,000 to cover program tuition. I had the fortune of sharing the news. We cried and laughed – it was unbelievable. A quick and aggressive GoFundMe campaign helped us to raise funds for Maureen’s in country expenses while Maureen hit the ground running to gather the visas she would need in advance of her departure (a harrowing process!).

In January 2017, Maureen flew to San Francisco, California where she was greeted by my family. She fulfilled her dream of seeing the Golden Gate Bridge and had a few days to explore the Bay Area with curiosity about EVERYTHING she saw! On January 4^th, I flew to San Diego to meet with Maureen and the following day, saw Maureen off to join the Spring 2017 Semester at Sea voyage.  She could not have been more excited and so ready to see the world.

Over the past month, I’ve been keeping in touch with Maureen via email and a FaceTime call. She has now visited Hawaii and Japan and is en route to Vietnam. She says she loves everything about the ship and the voyage so far. She is on the council of the international student body, joined a salsa club, and is preparing to give a presentation about Kibera to her shipboard community.   

I cannot think of a better person to have the opportunity to be part of a program such as this one. It is an unbelievable experience of a lifetime for any student – but for Maureen it will have an impact not only on her, but on the 20 siblings back in Kibera that will see that anything is possible.