Ten years ago, I took a gap year and worked as an ESL teacher in The Gambia, West Africa. I quickly noticed that there were certain students who worked so much harder than their peers because they understood the importance of an education.  These select children would go home, go through their mandatory chores to help their family, and then work by candlelight until late at night to finish their homework.  These children always took their time to make sure their homework was done correctly and they would voluntarily work with me after school if they did not understand something.  Needless to say, these were the children excelling in the classroom. These children were motivated by more than good grades though; they understood that a good education was the only way to make a better life for themselves and their families.

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Annual school tuition fees for these children were around $100 USD.  For the families in Makumbaya, the village where I worked, the quarterly school fee collection was a dreaded time because the family would have to save up for days or weeks in order to pay their student’s tuition.  There was one family who only ate plain white rice for a week in order to save enough money for their child’s school fees. I learned that because of economic hardship an astounding number of students would be forced to drop out of school before they graduate high school; many would drop out before even making it to high school.  Most times, they drop out not because of laziness or bad grades, but because they will be needed at home to take care of the family or to get a job to support the family.

I wanted to help the group of particularly dedicated students stay in school until they graduated high school. As a result, I created the Starling Sponsorship Program which paired a student with an American family who would pay for their annual school fees. In return, the Gambian families had to agree to keep their child in school until they graduated high school. I am proud to announce that from the eighteen students who were part of Starling Sponsorship Program, three students accomplished the goal of the program and received their high school diplomas. These students were Penda, Awa and Adama.

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Two years ago, these three students reached out to me and said they wanted to continue their education and go to college. But they wanted the best education they could get; they wanted to come to America. For people who are so young they understand that an education is their most powerful opportunity. They have big post-college dreams too: Penda wants to go on to become a nurse, Awa wants to become a business woman and Adama wants to work in telecommunications and computer science.

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These dreams of theirs have been carefully thought through. With a college education from America, they know that they will have their pick of jobs upon returning to the Gambia. Their overall goal is to be able to financially support their families and lift them into an economic strata that they have never before experienced. They hope to help more than just their families though. Penda wants to be a nurse because she wants to help eradicate the diseases that kill so many people in the Gambia. Awa wants to own a large and successful hotel chain so that she can employ the many Gambians who cannot find work. Adama wants to work in telecommunications and computer science because he wants to bring internet access to the most remote parts of the Gambia so that education is something that everyone can access.

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Your involvement in this project can help make these students’ dreams come true. Visit our Get Involved page to learn ways to engage with this project that include non-monetary options. Or, you can donate right now by visiting our GoFundMe site: www.gofundme.com/gmbatousa

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Thank you for your interest and support of this project!