The Words of the Kanno Family
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The Words of the Kanno Family |
The Unification Scholarship Fund is helping young Unificationists in developing countries continue their education.
This is a project I got an inspiration for during my time on STF as we were organizing various service projects in Africa and Israel. In particular we organized to send some of the member to the Ivory Coast to take part in a Service for Peace project there. When the members returned and gave their testimonies, they revealed to me a new reality I hadn't thought of before.
There are over 400 blessed children in the Ivory Coast, and they grow up in many different situations. Ivory Coast is a country that came out of a 5-year civil war in 2007, just three years ago. Needless to say, government programs aren't as developed as those we enjoy in the UK and Europe. In Europe we put a lot of emphasis on how important it is to get an education as a vessel to a successful life. I wondered how many blessed children could afford to attend university there. What I found out was an unpleasant surprise.
With a little internet research and help from Philbert Seka (head of SFP Ivory Coast) I learned that university costs about 700 USD per year and average per capita income is about 1700 USD (IMF 2009 report). That is 41% of the total income of an average Ivorian. Comparatively speaking it would be as if university in the UK would cost 14,000 USD (9,000 pounds) per year in just tuition (we may be there soon though). I realize this is a simplistic illustration, but imagine attempting to send your children to university without the opportunity for government subsidized student loans.
With this knowledge I decided that as a part of the unification community, I needed to do something to help other blessed children get the education they deserve. I was inspired by Hyung Jin Nim's ministry, as he encourages us to support and lift each other up. I believe the blessed families of Africa can use all the help they can get to live the blessed life True Parents would like them to have.
Initially I presented my idea to Geros Kunkel (head of the European second gen. dept.) and he was very supportive, encouraging me and giving me suggestions on how to get the fund off the ground. After my time on STF I moved to London where I started university. There I talked with Simon Cooper about the project and he was also very supportive. He had me present my idea to the finance committee. From that meeting we could arrange for a bank account tied to Family Federation UK, to be set up.
This year we have been able to donate 1000 USD (640 GBP/720 euro) to support 4 blessed children to attend school this year, 1 to university ($700), 2 to secondary school ($240) and 1 to primary school ($100).
Right now I am managing the scholarship in my free time, raising funds and spreading the word. I am working closely with Philbert Seka, who is in Ivory Coast taking care of the members there, and I report to Simon and Geros Kunkel.
Each recipient will send trimestral reports on their progress in school and how they are also contributing to the Unificationist community in their area. We require the recipients to be a pro-active part of their church community.
Currently the fund is only working in the Ivory Coast, but in the future I hope to be able to expand the fund to support as many 2nd generation in all developing countries, and maybe even in developed countries as well, although this would require a substantial amount of funds. What I am doing now is creating a positive precedent upon which to develop things.
If you're on the fence about contributing to this initiative, all those involved are doing this on a volunteer basis, so every pound donated goes straight to the recipients, and there are minimal administration costs. This project is still in a foundation stage, so we are in the process of forming a board that can be held responsible for the handling of funds and selecting the recipients for the scholarship in a more democratic manner. Also I am looking into creating different ways to donate money, whether through PayPal or even just giving cash donations if you see me around.
With a fiver, you could send a blessed child to school for 1 month! What are you waiting for? Be sure to like our facebook page, Unificationist Scholarship Fund. There you can find bank details if you wish to donate and be up to date on the developments of the fund.
If you would like to get more information, please write to unificationscholarship@gmail.com
God bless
Tokuwa Kanno