“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

Basic Dignities has completed a variety of projects in the past, but recently they have been primarily focused on education and clean water. After spending years bringing clean water to a community in Uganda, founding members Brittany and Tricia noticed the strong correlation between clean water and education for young women. In areas without clean water, the brunt of the work of gathering clean water falls on young women, which often leads to these women falling behind in school. By focusing on both clean water AND education, Basic Dignities hopes to make the biggest impact in communities where they work.

The Women’s Scholarship Program was created in 2021 to support young women who were academically gifted but lacked the means to financially continue their education in areas where Basic Dignities worked. Scholarship recipients are chosen based on academic performance, financial need, and desire to make a lasting impact in their hometown. Scholarships are available to young women who want to study medicine, engineering or education at university. Once selected, students are expected to maintain good grades, share their academic and personal progress, and to remain in their home country for three (3) years after graduation. By carefully selecting young women who want to make a difference in the STEM field, Basic Dignities hopes to create strong, independent leaders who can return to their hometowns and assist with educating the next generation of women, helping install successful water systems, and providing much-needed medical care to their community.

All students who apply are considered for scholarships regardless of race, religion, political beliefs, or any other protected status, and we uphold our scholarship recipients to the highest academic and moral standards. Discriminatory actions of any kind or participation in activities that encourage discrimination will result in immediate dismissal from the Basic Dignities Women's Scholarship Program. For a copy of our full Diversity & Inclusion and Academic policies, please reach out to Brittany at brittany@basicdignities.org.

BONGOLO HOSPITAL PARTNERSHIP

bongolo hospital school of nursing - gabon, africa

Basic Dignities is partnering with the Bongolo Hospital School of Nursing in Gabon, Africa to help three young women achieve their dreams of becoming nurses. Bongolo Hospital was founded in 1977 by Dr. David Thompson. It is widely regarded as one of the best hospitals in western Africa, and patients come from all over Gabon as well as neighboring countries to be treated. It is located near the southern border of Gabon by a small town called Lebamba. Formerly a French colony, Gabon gained it independence in 1960. It’s economy relies on oil, manganese and timber production. The country is 85% rainforest and is home to 1.7 million people. One third of the people live in poverty.

The nursing school currently has 14 students (10 women and 4 men). The program is three years long, and all students are required to maintain a 60% or higher to remain in the program. After graduation, all students are offered full-time positions at the hospital.

The nursing school is directed by Sandra Freeman, a California native who has been involved with the school since 2014. After her first trip to Haiti in 2010, she fell in love with mission work and wanted to pursue a full-time position helping others that utilized her nursing background. She signed up for a 4-year position at the Bongolo School of Nursing and has been there ever since, teaching and managing the nursing program. Many of us cannot imagine leaving everything we know behind to go serve in a poverty-stricken country that primarily speaks French, but Sandie says, “…I wouldn't have changed anything. It has been an amazing journey and I love all our students so much.” In addition to her role at the school, Sandra acts as a mentor to the students Basic Dignities’ sponsors at the Bongolo Hospital School of Nursing. Because the students speak French, Sandra facilitates calls between Basic Dignities and the students, ensures students are successful in their classes, and steps in as needed to help the young women succeed. She is a key link between Basic Dignities at the students at the nursing school.

education in gabon

Children in Gabon begin attending school at the age of 6. At the age of 16 (the end of 10th grade), they take a national exam called the BCP. This exam is used by universities to determine if students qualify to attend. To attend Bongolo Hospital School of Nursing, students are required to take the BCP. If possible, the school prefers students take “the Bach”, a qualification that shows they have completed their primary and secondary education.

WEMA PARTNERSHIP

Highway academy graduates - bungoma, kenya

Basic Dignities is partnering with Wema, a nonprofit organization that supports Highway Academy, to sponsor young women who are interested in studying medicine, engineering or education at university. Our team was first introduced to Highway Academy through our work at Wema Children’s Centre in Bungoma, Kenya (see details about this project here!). Our president, Brittany Sterling, met the student at Highway Academy on a trip to their campus in 2017 and spoke to them about her experiences as a women in engineering in the United States.

Wema and Highway Academy were founded by Stephen Juma and Teresa Wati, Kenyan professionals who wanted to help the children of Kenya gain access to education. Teresa is a teacher, and she recognized the need and importance of providing quality education to Kenyan children. To learn more about Highway Academy or Wema, check out their website at Wema Children Inc. - Home. Teresa acts as a key link in helping young women succeed in the Basic Dignities’ Women’s Scholarship Program. Each year, she identifies students that have been selected to go to university but are unable to attend due to lack of funding. Basic Dignities works with Teresa to evaluate these students and select young women that fit the criteria of the program to sponsor. Teresa also acts as a local mentor while these young women go through university. She is able to meet with them to discuss issues, address concerns, and facilitate conversations with Basic Dignities.

education in kenya

Schooling in Kenya is broken into three parts: primary school, secondary school and higher education. Students attend primary school for eight years, from age six through fourteen. Then, each student takes a national exam. Students who score well on the exam then attend secondary school from age fourteen to eighteen. In order to attend any university (higher education) in Kenya, you must first qualify by taking a second national exam. Only a small number of students score well enough to continue their education at university. The young women we have chosen to sponsor have achieved admirable scores on their exams, and we are excited and hopeful about their futures. Their biographies with more information about their higher education plans are included below.

WARM HEARTS PARTNERSHIP

The Warm Hearts Foundation is a nonprofit organization that provides a variety of services to people in Malawi and Kenya. Their mission is to provide a loving hand to lift those less fortunate out of poverty and into self-sufficiency by providing clean water sources, safe shelter, nourishment and educational opportunities. Basic Dignities co-founder, Tricia, was first introduced to the Warm Hearts Foundation when she had the opportunity to participate in a micro-loan project that helped women provide income to their families through improvements in their farming and produce sales. The women used much of their earnings to purchase the uniforms required for their children to attend school. To learn more about the Warm Hearts Foundation, check out their website: https://warmheartsfoundation.org.

The Warm Hearts Foundation also builds schools in Malawi. Basic Dignities partnered with the Warm Hearts Foundation to identify students that were successful in their education but would not be able to attend university without financial assistance. Through this relationship, Basic Dignities made connections with several universities in Malawi including Mzuzu University and Kamuzu University of Health and Science and was eventually connected with local professional Violet Chibambo. Violet is a lawyer that dedicates her free time to improving the lives of young women in Malawi. To accomplish this, she founded the Mzimba Rural Development Project, a nonprofit organization that focuses on education, public health & sanitation, women empowerment, agriculture, microloans, and employment assistance. Her most recent project provided sanitary pads to St. John of God, a home for mentally challenged young women. Violet is an active member of the Mzuzu community, and she serves as a mentor for the local students at Basic Dignities. Violet helps the students with money management, provides a local perspective on issues in Malawi and is a key link in making our program successful in Malawi.

university selection in malawi

At the end of high school, all students in Malawi take a national exam. The results of this exam are provided to universities all over the country. The universities then look through the exams, review the students, and select which students they would like to attend their institution. Once they have decided on an incoming freshman class, they publish the names in a local newspaper, or they announce the names on a local radio station. It is up to the students to find out if they have been selected by hearing the radio ad, seeing the newspaper, or by word of mouth. The students then typically have two weeks to report to school. There are several things about this system that make it difficult for the students; primarily, Malawi is a large country, and the student selected by the university may not be local, so it is difficult for students to find out if they have been selected to attend university. Also, the universities have almost an entire year to review applications, so students have a “gap year” after high school. By the time they are selected to attend university, they may not have the financial resources to do so.

UGANDA MBARARA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIP

The education system in Uganda is composed of three parts: primary school, secondary school and university education. Primary school begins at the age of 4 and lasts for 10 years. Students attend three years of pre-primary school, primary grades 1-7, and then enter secondary school at the age of 14. Secondary school is six years long and can be broken into grades senior 1-4, and then two years of “high school”, senior 5-6. After completing secondary school, students have earned a certificate that qualifies them to attend university around age 20. While there are some government programs that provide funding for about 2,000 Ugandan students to attend university, most of these scholarship go to veterans or students in large cities. Approximately 40,000 Ugandan students apply to university every year.

Basic Dignities worked with the Mbarara University of Science and Technology to identify students in need of scholarships studying medicine, engineering or education. One of the professors at the university, Nyombi Samuel Wilson, was instrumental with connecting Basic Dignities with needy students. He also serves as a mentor to these students.

Nyombi, a nurse by profession, is in his final year of critical care nursing studies. He is a former street kid from Kampala Street but in the year 1986, he was rescued from the streets of Kampala at the age of six years and sent to school by Rev, Dr. Kefa Sempangi. He currently volunteer with Reaching Africa's unreached as a missionary nurse coordinating medical outreach program in hard to reach areas in Uganda. At the university, he teaches the undergraduates nurses gynecology, palliative care nursing and personal and communal health. Nyombi says, “When I heard and read about the Women scholarship, it is exactly within the same line with my interests towards educating a girl child who will be able to go back to community and teach others! I feel honored to work to work with Basic Dignities as we reach out to educate a girl child.”

MEET THE STUDENTS

Meet Millicent. She is a 22 year old civil engineering student at the Sigalagala Technical College. She is the third child in a family of seven children and was raised by a single mother in Western Kenya. She spent a large portion of her childhood at Highway Academy in Bungoma, Kenya. In order to help send her to college, Millicent’s mother sold part of her land to fund her education. Millicent says, “I chose civil engineering because I would like to be part of women change makers. I would like to work with communities to provide water solutions for health.” In her free time, Millicent enjoys reading and playing badminton.

Meet Jemimah. She is from Bungoma county, Kenya. She took the Kenya National Examination in 2021, attained a B-, and has been placed at Alupe university. She will pursue a Bachelor in Education.  She was born into a family of ten children and her dad is not employed. He is a peasant and what he gets is only enough to put food on the table. Her elder brother does not have a job while her elder sister has a job which helps her feed her family and pay a loan which she took to build a small house for their parents. Her second sister was pursuing Education science at Egerton University but she differed last year due to lack of school fees. 

Jemimah says, “It is my dream to be a science teacher in the future in order to motivate and teach girls in my village to focus on science. Science provides needed solutions to problems in the current world. This  has been my dream course since i joined secondary school but due to financial challenges in our family i'm afraid this dream might not come true.”

Meet Everline. She is a 17 year old student pursuing a diploma in civil engineering. She got C on the national Kenyan exam. She comes from a poor family with ten children where she is the oldest, and her parents cannot afford to pay school fees. Her dad is a bodaboda rider and her mother is jobless.

Everline says, “I would like to pursue this course simply because it is a good course that at the end I become a water engineer. I will then participate fully in solving water problems in the community as you know water is life. I  will be able to help my family especially my siblings and also due to the skills acquired I will be able to urge other girls to take engineering. Being an engineer has been my dream since I was young and I hope you will help me fulfill my dream. Due to your help I hope one day I will be successful and help the community together with the country at large. I promise never to let you down in everything that I will do in my studies. I pray for God to be with you as you look forward to help me. Due to your help I will not benefit myself but I will also lend a hand assisting other people who are in the same situation like mine, especially those who want to fulfill their dreams in life.”

Meet Alinfae, a twenty two year old nursing student at Mzuzu University in Mzuzu, Malawi. Alinfae is the first born of two siblings. She was raised by her parents and grandmother until her father passed away when she was in secondary school. Her mother managed to support her education through farming with some assistance from her uncle. Due to her excellent grades, Alinafe was able to secure a loan for her tuition for the first two years of university from the government. However, this loan is no longer available for her to complete her studies. When she learned this, Alinafe said, “This news led to stress and depression I couldn’t concentrate on my studies.”

Due to lack of money for food and accommodations, Alinafe would often go days without eating, which made it difficult to concentrate on her studies. She also had no money to purchase a laptop, which made it difficult to study. Alinafe applied for the Basic Dignities Women’s Scholarship Program in her second year, and we are excited to help her successfully complete the rest of her education.

 Meet Aria, a 35 year old Ugandan woman born in Kanungu district, southwestern Uganda. She was born to a family of 5 children. She was raised by her father, as she lost her mother when she was 7 years old.  She also lived with her grandmother growing up. Aria is the old of her five siblings.

Aria’s favorite childhood memory is when she witnessed a child that was bitten by a snake, taken to nearby health facility and was saved by the medical staff there. She admired the work of the nurses because she had previously thought that all snake bites were fatal. This incident encouraged her to go into the medical field. Aria says, “And the reason for choosing this field is that I have passion for patients. My long term goals for this degree is to go back and serve patients better in the community and also become a tutor in the field of nursing in the long run. This degree will enable me take care of my parents and help the needy as you are doing especially girl child. The impact I would like to have on my community is to be a health promoter as well as a health educator.”

During her free time, Aria enjoys doing research, reading novels, and watching educatiional videos.

Meet Grace, a 34 year old Uganda woman born in Wandegeya cell. She grew up with 5 siblings; 2 brothers and 3 sisters. She was brought up by a single mother, having lost her father at an early age. Her mother farmed other people’s land to earn a living and pay for Grace’s schooling. Grace’s mother would often keep her home from school to help farm the land to raise additional money to feed the family. During Grace’s first semester at university, her mother had to sell a piece of their land to pay for her tuition.

Her favorite child memory was when she almost lost her cousin during childbirth. As is common in the area, her cousin delivered from her home. She had several birth complications which lead to hemorrhaging, and her family called all the villagers to carry her to a health facility. The nurses and midwife helped her recover, and after this Grace wanted to become a nurse. Everyone in the village thought her cousin would die, so she wants to work hard and become a nurse and serve her community as well. Grace says, “What entices me most in nursing is to have patients getting cured from illness and becoming healthy. But the most reason for choosing this profession is to see patients recovering from their illness. My main aim for this degree is to serve patients better in the community.”

During her free time, Grace enjoys being with friends, reading articles, attending church services and playing netball.

Meet Violet, a caring and determined student nurse at Mzuzu University in Malawi. She is currently working hard to make a positive impact in her community. She was born into a family of five and knew from a young age that she wanted to help people who were sick. This led her to pursue a career in nursing and midwifery. She likes watching movies during her free days. She is 27 years old and is fully committed to her educational goals. From the early stages of her studies, she has been supported by her family, who encourage her to do well in her studies. She says, “I have a great feeling that the completion of my current studies in Nursing and Midwifery will act as a bridge towards fulfilment of my dream of specializing in orthopedic nursing. This dream comes from seeing how trauma patients in my community struggle without specialized care. Hence, I want to make things better. My goal is to become a leading expert in orthopedic nursing in Malawi. I plan to continue my education by getting a Master's degree in Orthopedic Nursing. This will help me provide even better care to people with orthopedic injuries and conditions. Through my dedication as a student nurse with a big heart and big dreams, I want my passion for helping others and improving healthcare in Malawi be an inspiration to everyone around me. As I continue my education at Mzuzu University and beyond, I am very sure that I will make a lasting difference in the world of nursing and inspire others to follow in my footsteps.”

Meet Mercy, a 20-year old Kenyan native from Bukembe village, Bungoma , Kenya. Mercy was born to a single mother who could not afford to raise her. She left Mercy when she was 1 year old with her great grandmother to care for her. Later, her mother married and now has six other children . Her grandmother is unable to work, so life with her grandmother has been challenging, and there were often without food and other basic essentials.

Going to school would not have been possible for Mercy if Wema did not give her a scholarship. Her grandmother could not afford the essentials for them to survive, much less her school fees. Mercy realized early on that she would have to work hard in order to bring change to herself and her family, and she also realized that it is not good for girls to give birth before they are able to care for their children.

Mercy finished high school at Wema in 2022 and scored  a C+ on the national exam. She enjoyed the environment in school was good which made learning easy. She also took part in games like volleyball and journalism club. She worked hard, the teachers at Wema were good, and they helped and encouraged Mercy to work hard.

Mercy says, “I would like to pursue a course in nursing. That has been my dream…After finishing [my courses] I will also be able to help my siblings and work with young girls to know how to avoid early pregnancies and early marriages. I will also be able to help and encourage those kids that want to pursue the same course not to give up.”

GRADUATES

We are so excited to share with you the graduates of the Basic Dignities Women’s Scholarship Program. The following students were funded by your donations and graduated in their field of study.

how can i help?

To make a donation, go to our “Donate” page, or follow us on Facebook to learn about our upcoming fundraisers! As always, feel free to reach out through the “Contact Us” page if you have a specific way you’d like to help.