Rich rewards for sponsors and students alike

We can’t emphasize enough what our sponsors truly mean to the African Education Program (AEP) and the Amos Youth Centre (AYC) and the students we’re committed to helping. Because of your generosity and your belief in our organization and our students, we’ve been able to provide more scholarships, establish more services, and affect and save more lives.

The other side of the coin though is actually how our sponsors are rewarded by this relationship, as much as our students in fact. And the connection goes far beyond the dollars donated. Of course, the students appreciate having their school fees paid and a chance at higher education. But their letters indicate a real love and concern for the people making those donations and changing their lives.

One of AEP’s long-time dedicated sponsors, Mrs. H, explained, “Our students know that we are interested in their studies so they often fill us in on the courses that they are taking and those that appeal to them the most…As soon as we received our first letters from the children we were sponsoring, the children’s love of learning, the enormous value they place on education, their gratitude for our assistance, and all that the AYC means to them and the ability to make an enormous difference each child’s life have kept us involved.”

Mrs. F, another loyal AEP donor, said that “nourishing the students with food and learning” inspires her to work with and donate to AEP. “The students in Africa have a thirst for knowledge that delights the soul. I visited in 2011 and would love to go back. To be there in person gives you a whole different perspective on what the obstacles to health and education are in a third-world atmosphere. We in the U.S. have very little conception of the difficulty the students have in getting themselves to school, staying in school, and even finding time to study. It’s amazing what they accomplish given their situations.”

Anyone who has read one of the letters, visited AYC in Kafue, or attended one of the fundraisers knows how much of a difference we’re making together. We can forget about our “first-world” problems, as real as they are, for a while, as we enter the “third world” and see the grace and good nature exhibited by people who struggle to survive each day.

“I think AEP is doing an amazing job and we need to determine ways to increase the funds they have available to they can build a new center and expand the education of these find children and young adults,” affirmed Mrs. F.