Q. What kinds of controls are in place to prevent the money from being misused?
A. All payments are made directly to the schools; monies are never given to an individual person. Payments are made in the form of a cashier’s check to the school. In this way, the school pays for all the student’s expenses.
Additionally, all sponsors are encouraged to correspond with their students on a regular basis. Upon receiving aid, each student sends a handwritten thank you letter to the sponsor. Any school that does not comply with these requirements will not receive scholarships for their students.
Q. How does a “sponsorship” work?
A. Interested students fill out scholarship applications provided to their school by the fund. The school’s administration arranges a list of students in need of financial aid. The list is organized to give the neediest and most eligible students top priority. Most sponsored students are orphans with no chance of attending school without our help. When someone wishes to become a sponsor, a school is notified and sends a student’s application to the fund. The fund then sends the application to the sponsor, along with the student’s picture, letter of intent, and address. The student is notified that he or she has been accepted and sends a thank-you letter directly to the sponsor.
Q. What does the money from a sponsorship actually pay for?
A. The money goes towards room and board (students live on campus), a required school uniform, tuition, fees, and books.
Q. Are there other programs or projects that the fund schools?
A. The Fund has recently implemented the “Adopt-a-School” program to provide teaching jobs for teachers' college graduates. Donors pay to provide and support a teacher in an area where there would otherwise be no teacher. The Zambian government cannot afford to pay for teachers in most rural village schools where the need is greatest.
The fund has also started working with scout groups, clubs, and religious organizations to gather and send used textbooks to Zambia. Most Zambian schools are in dire need of textbooks.Q. Why the emphasis on education as opposed to agricultural or relief aid?
A. The fund was created to enable the Zambian people to overcome the poverty and social injustices in their nation. Zambia’s government and social infrastructure has remained weak because the people lack the education necessary to effectively begin working toward solutions to their problems. Handouts will simply increase Zambia’s dependency on foreign aid and prolong low self-esteem.Q. How do I know my money actually goes to help my student?
A. We have people we trust living and working for us in Zambia who make sure the students are in school and that teachers on the 'Adopt-A-School' program are in place and paid. You may contact any of the following: Mr. Matafwali 011-26--097-893566, Ms. Kazenene 011-26-097-349598, Ms. Phiri 011-26-097-7831775. Also we travel to Zambia each year to see that all is running well. We invite sponsors who wish to travel with us, at their own expense, to accompany us and visit the schools and students.
