Hello,
I sponsor a few post-secondary students through an excellent Canadian
organization called ACCES (African - Canadian Continuing Education
Society). ACCES gives scholarships to needy Kenyan students. The students
must study in a field where jobs are available. Many students are in
applied sciences; for example, I sponsor a pre-med student and a future
electrical installer.
Two weeks ago my husband and I received a letter from Kenya, from the future
electrical installer. Zacharia, who is 30, wrote, in part,
"Here in Kenya life is very hard. We people cannot get even one USA
dollar a day - most people are living below the poverty line, no good
schools, one meal a day, no clean water, too much corruption in all
government sectors, only the ruling class is exposed to finer things, early
marriage to both girls & boys yet AIDS is also sweeping this nation away."
...
"Surely many brains are better than one. Please, I request you to
help me initiate any viable project on this underdeveloped land so that it
could help our rural families. I think you can help me acquire or borrow
some good ideas from there.
It will be sad and does not make sense when one time I shine or
live a luxurious life while people around me cannnot get even one meal a
day; it will be risky and so I should think of viable project to help them.
It is true that you are helping me not just for my personal gains but the
community and the world as a whole. You help me to help others especially
the children and women who are always deprived of their basic rights."
For better water, I mailed him plans on solar pasteurization units. Also,
plans for solar ovens, including articles by Daniel Kammen, the physicist
at Princeton University. I downloaded all these from the web:
(http://www.accessone.com/~sbcn). These are examples of technology which
use physics principles, so Zacharia should be able to use them eventually
to help his people.
Can you suggest more ideas for projects that he and his colleagues could
implement? and papers/articles that could be sent to him? ACCES would be
interested in this, for they try to help students get started in careers.
(I'm sure you can do a better job at thinking of workable ideas than I can,
with all your physics expertise and practical experience.)
Zacharia's entire year's school expenses cost me only about $300! But $300
is the average YEARLY income of a Kenyan family, so I'm told. ACCES is an
all-volunteer group, and every penny donated goes directly to the school of
the student. My husband and I sponsor 4 students; it's gratifying. One is
in medical school at the University of Nairobi; I enjoy his letters about
his delight in studying pathology, pharmacology, and microbiology.
ACCES needs more donors. Perhaps your physics class could sponsor a
student. The sponsored student will be about 18 years old, similar in age
to your students. This project may help your students become more thankful
for their education, for they will get a handwritten autobiography and
snapshot of the Kenyan student, and they can correspond with him/her.
Kenya has a population of 28 million. Half are under 15 years old. 70% of
the labor force is unemployed. The standard of living is now estimated to
be below the 1970 level. The DAILY NATION, Jan. 10, 2000 cites:
-- gross enrollment in school at the early childhood level is 34%,
-- about 55% drop out of school at the end of primary school
(because they can't afford to pay the compulsory fees).
That unschooled proportion is going up, unfortunately.
FACTS ABOUT ACCES:
ACCES is a nonprofit organization. It was founded by Beth and George Scott,
retirees in education and law, who had read a book by Robert Rodale
pointing out that one person can make a big difference in the world. They
are committed to global ethics.
A dozen retirees participate in administering ACCES; most live in a suburb
of Vancouver (north of Seattle).
Some of these retirees make months - long visits to Kenya at their own
expense to personally coordinate the program there. They have strict
guidelines on which students get supported, and they make sure that the
funds go directly to the university, not to the government where it would
be subject to corruption.
Credentials/authenticity: ACCES was awarded a 3-year grant from the
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Beth Scott recently was
given the Lewis Perinbam Award, in honor of the former vice-president of
CIDA and holder of the Order of Canada, Canada's highest honor for lifetime
achievement. The congratulatory award letter to Beth Scott states: "...the
Trustees were extremely impressed with your exceptional contribution to
education and the emphasis placed on youth and development in Kenya through
ACCES. ..."
I don't know of any American organization that does similar work; do you?
HOW TO CONTACT THEM:
You can e-mail or call them, or mail them a check (made out to ACCES):
Beth Scott, President
ACCES
2441 Christopherson Road
Surrey, British Columbia
Canada V4A 3L2
Phone: (604) 538-7267.
e-mail: Elizabeth & George Scott <acces@smartt.com>
website: www.powernetdesign.com/acces
FINALLY:
I quote from a newspaper article on ACCES:
"the Scotts point out that the situation in very poor parts of the world,
in both scale and kind, is more desperate than anything known in the rich
societies. "True charity is where the need is", they answer. "Our poorest
people here are wealthy compared to the people there. Further, these
imbalances in the world will eventually impinge upon the 'good life' of the
affluent..."
For me, the bottom line is this question: "How would I like it if I were
growing up in Kenya?"
Cheers,
Jane
Jane Jackson, Dir., Modeling Workshop Project
Box 871504, Dept.of Physics, ASU, Tempe, AZ 85287
480-965-8438/fax:965-7331. http://modeling.la.asu.edu
The more receptive you are, the more you can receive.