To vote: Click the links under each of the 11 reasons, that say Click to vote on Twitter and a tweet will be generated with all the hashtags needed to vote. Click on the ones that speak most to you. You can click all of them to vote more than once You can vote every single day. To learn more about how Seeds For Hope is fulfilling each of these, read more.
1. Because education changes lives [Click to Vote]
2. Because we help young people explore the world through the arts [Click to Vote]
3. Because we encourage cross cultural collaborations [Click to Vote]
4. Because we invest in local organizations who promote
education in their communities [Click to Vote]
5. Because to date, over 200 young men and women enrolled and
graduated from academic programs around Kenya. [Click to Vote]
6. Because 80% of our graduate scholars are employed in career-oriented jobs, rather than survival-based casual labor [Click to Vote]
7. Because the impact of our program results in increased earning potential leading to economic stability for their households [Click to Vote]
8. Because many of our graduates continue the education cycle by contributing to the education of others in their family. [Click to Vote]
9. Because SFH invests in small businesses that help local communities achieve their development goals [Click to Vote]
10. Seeds for Hope provides information to our students on HIV, and sexual and relational health. [Click to Vote]
11. Because investing in a student impacts the world around them. [Click to Vote]
Microsoft has started the Upgrade Your World campaign to fund organizations who are doing work in Kenya (and other places) who are doing the work to upgrade the world around them. They are choosing 5 organizations in each country to each they will give $50,000. Seeds For Hope does its work through the generosity from donors, but a grant like this can sustain our organization for a longer period of time. So how are the selections made? By voting on social media!
We are asking our community to take a moment and vote for Seeds For Hope. Vote for us because you believe in the work we are doing, and because our work is making a difference in peoples lives, and making a dent in the cycle of poverty and dependency. To make it easier for you we’ve compiled a list of 11 reasons why Seeds For Hope should be a grant winner for Microsoft’s #UpgradeYourWorldKE
Vote below! Here’s why you should…
1. Because education changes lives
We’ve witnessed remarkable changes in the lives of our scholars. Angela’s story, above is just an example of how education can turn a life around. It’s not just about earning a degree, but the confidence that is instilled in a person through their achievements will last them the rest of their lives.
Click to vote on Twitter
2. Because we help young people explore
the world through the arts
Through our Arts for Life program, SFH connects arts professionals with Kenyan schools, in order to use music, art, poetry and theater to teach skills, and help deal with the challenges of the world around. The video above is the result of one of these workshops. “You Might Think” is a powerful piece were students expressed in their own words their true identity vs. the way others may look at them.
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3. Because we encourage cross cultural collaborations
Seeds For Hope connects students with others abroad, through our volunteer programs and workshops. The collaborations and dialogue that result from these programs encourage understanding, compassion, and a greater sense of our connectedness on this planet. The video above is a short film about one such collaboration between a NYC rock musician, and a girls school in Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya. Watch the trailer above, or the entire mini-documentary, to see how this collaboration impacted everyone involved.
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4. Because we invest in local organizations who promote education in their communities
Investing in students through our scholars program is just one part of the equation. Seeds For Hope also invests in local organizations who possess a model for sustainable growth and positive impact in their communities. Kibera Girls Soccer Academy is just one of these organizations, where our initial seed funding helped launch the school to great heights. Learn more about our partners here.
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5. Because to date, over 200 young men and women enrolled and graduated from academic programs around Kenya.
While we have over 200 alumni of our SFH Scholars Fund, for us, education and scholarship is not a numbers game. We are a small organization, having large impact in the lives of individuals. When we invest in a student, we don’t just commit to them for a single term or year, but rather, once a student is granted a scholarship, we are committed to them for the duration until they complete that particular level of schooling. With each of our students, we offer guidance and mentorship and other support, so that all barriers to the learning process can be removed in an effort to increase their chances at success. Learn more about how we work with our scholars.
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6. Because 80% of our graduate scholars are employed in career-oriented jobs, rather than survival-based casual labor
Survival based employment is a common way of life for many young people. In places like Kenya, young people will drop out of school as young as 12 years old, to begin working as a day laborer, to earn pennies for hours of work. With education being costly past primary school, families would rather have their children work than continue their education. Our scholars are encouraged to not only do well and complete their education, but in addition, know themselves and discover their dreams, so that when they finish, they can begin following them.
80% of our grads have moved away from this mindset of employment as a survival technique but rather, have put themselves on career paths towards making their dreams come true.
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7. Because the impact of our program results in increased earning potential leading to economic stability for their households
When the earning potential of an individual increases, the stability of their household increases. We often will see our scholars becoming breadwinners for their family because of their ability to generate more income. This takes a family out of collective survival mode, and a household can go from barely making ends meet, to being able to plan strategically for the well being and development of every member of the household.
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8. Because many of our graduates continue the education cycle by contributing to the education of others in their family.
There is a saying that when you educate a girl, an educated girl becomes an educated woman, and an educated woman, can become an educated mother, and an educated mother will have educated children, which leads to the transformation of a family, a community, and even a whole society. Education is a gift that continues to give. Many of our scholars will have the ability to put their own siblings and children into school because of their ability to increase their income. What happens is, a family becomes no longer reliant on charity but is now self sustaining. Educating one person can lead to freedom for a whole number of people. Because Our program leads to graduates being proactive in the lives of others breaking the cycle of poverty and dependence.
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9. Because SFH invests in small businesses that help local communities achieve their development goals
One such example of this investment is our involvement with the Syana Nzeo community of Ukambani, KE: A group of local older caregivers who have become responsible for young orphans whose parents have died of HIV related illnesses. They meet together to come up with ways they can provide for these children, to keep them fed, healthy, and educated. Part of our work with this group was an investment in a chicken business, which has provided so much for this group of caregivers and their families. Read more about it on our blog.
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10. Seeds for Hope provides information to our students on HIV, and sexual and relational health.
In addition, Seeds for Hope provides and information to our students on HIV, and sexual and relational health. With a high rate of HIV in East Africa and a pressing concern for an entire generation of youth, our students gain a better understanding of how best to take care of themselves and their partners.
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11. Because investing in a student impacts the world around them.
Most of all, our scholars are now part of a generation of people who want to influence the coming generation of dreamers; many of our scholars will volunteer and mentor current students in the program. Read about some of our scholars, as they describe these transformations in their own words. We see clearly that investing in education not only changes the course of an individual’s life, but creates a ripple effect from the student to the world around them.