By Barbara Dadd Shaffer
Support our 21 university students!
University classes are beginning in the Congo and 21 students from the Jamaa Letu Orphanages are enrolling. Yes, 21 – there are 12 new students and nine continuing students attending college.
For new students, there are adjustments to university life plus moving out of the orphanages into housing in the community. Although they will always consider the orphanages as their family home, for these young people, it’s time to move to a new stage of independence.
One of the young men is a student at Africa University in Zimbabwe studying to be a United Methodist pastor. His first year will include an intensive English program followed by four years of studies in the Faculty of Theology. Several students are studying Information technology at University of Mulungwishi, a United Methodist school that is a two-hour bus ride away. Our young people are also studying economics, business, community development, computer science and nursing.
But for these students, there are no scholarships, student employment or student loans.
All financial support comes from outside the Congo. Most of the students are being funded entirely from The PNW Conference. The $4,000 annual cost includes tuition, fees, books, supplies, room and board, tuition, transportation and personal expenses.
Each student is important. They come from the orphanages which are supported by the PNW Conference. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Consider supporting them financially.
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Barbara Dadd Shaffer serves as the chair for the Bishop’s Task Force, Hope for the Children of Africa.
