Deborah Bondo is an 11-year-old
student living in Monrovia,
the capital of Liberia. Just
as she was about to start
primary school, Deborah's
father died. "My mother
was left alone to care for
seven children, but this
didn't stop my mother from
sending me to school," she
says. Deborah began school,
but there were many challenges;
one month she would be in
school while the next she
would have to leave because
her mother could not pay
her school fees.
During the 2004-2005 school
year, the Ambassadors' Girls'
Scholarship Program (AGSP)
began working with the Maggie
Lampkins Institute, a school
in Deborah's community. She
was one of the fortunate
girls selected as a scholarship
recipient by the AGSP. Scholars
are selected by the community
through a systematic process
for identifying girls most
in need.
Deborah's school fees and
school supplies, such as
books and pens, are supplied
by the project. "I count
myself blessed. I now feel
joy because I can continue
my schooling uninterrupted," she
says. The Ambassadors' Girls'
Scholarship Program is supporting
Deborah's mother's desire
to educate her daughter.
This ambition is not often
seen in mothers who have
lost their husband's financial
support. Deborah's mother's
dream of having an educated
daughter and Deborah's dream
of becoming a nurse is supported
by the AGSP, which is being
implemented by the Children
Assistance Program in Liberia
with support from World Education
and the U.S. Agency for International
Development. Deborah is now
in the sixth grade and doing
well in her classes. "I
am very proud of Deborah
for all her hard work," says
Deborah's teacher.
Speaking with dedication and
confidence, Deborah says, "When
I become a nurse I will devote
my time to saving the lives
of mothers and fathers so
I can save other children
from the experience I had
when I started schooling."
The Ambassadors' Girls' Scholarship
Program
Through schooling, children are equipped
with knowledge skills that improve
the quality of their lives. Skills
such as reading and working with
numbers, as well as accurate information
on health and science, provide opportunities
to students that would otherwise
not exist. Unfortunately, in many
African communities, access to primary
and secondary schools is restricted
for young girls due to social, cultural,
and financial constraints.
One component of the U.S. President's
African Education Initiative (AEI)
is the Ambassadors Girls Scholarship
Program (AGSP). Funded through the
U.S. Agency for International Development,
AGSP is being implemented throughout
sub-Saharan Africa from 2004 - 2008.
World Education manages the program
in 12 West African countries in collaboration
with local NGOs. The AEI-AGSP supports
80,000 girls across the continent
each year (30,000 in West Africa
alone) who are economically disadvantaged,
handicapped, orphaned and/or affected
or infected by HIV and AIDS each
year in the form of scholarships
and mentoring. Many of the beneficiaries
would otherwise be out of school
or are at risk of dropping out. The
girls are sponsored over a period
of 4-5 years, through mostly primary
and some junior secondary schooling.
In addition, each girl enrolled in
the scholarship program is mentored
and encouraged in her educational
pursuits while participating in activities
that will focus on HIV mitigation
and prevention, and community participation
and democracy.
