Democratic Governance

This is the first time I am publishing a "video post". Although it is not directly Zambia related, I find it very thought provoking and interesting. I believe that if more people thought about these things, the world would be a better place.

Beyond King of the Mountain from doubletake tv on Vimeo.

A Special Message from Azadeh, Education Relief Network's President

Dear Reader,

The purpose of this post is to ask for contributions towards sending less privileged children to school. As Sam mentioned in his previous blog posts, thousands if not hundreds of thousands of children in Zambia are deprived of a chance to attain basic education because of their inability to pay an annual tuition amount. This amount is often minimal for our western lifestyles. An average of about a hundred dollars is usually enough to send a high school kid to school for an entire year. Yet, being able to afford this amount of money on education is very often impossible in these communities!

Education Relief Network (“ERN”) aspires to enable as many children as possible to continue their basic education so that through education the cycles of extreme poverty can be broken. To start our work towards this goal, we are hoping to send about 22 students (which I personally interviewed and selected as our first group of beneficiaries) to school the next school year. The new school year in Zambia starts next month. We need around $3,000 to make the dream of attending school possible for these children, and we are asking for your help.

The school fees are different for each student, because they go to different schools and are in different grades. Below are pictures of some of the 22 students we’d like to sponsor. On average, their annual tuition is $100 and the total amount of money they need, which includes tuition, uniform, shoes, and exam fees are: $150.

At this point ERN is an official Non-Profit, but due to the lengthy process of becoming a 501(c)3 organization, we have not yet been able to obtain official recognition from the IRS. We hope to be able to obtain this recognition in 2010. However, because at this point we do not have a 501(c)3 status, donations to our organization may not be tax deductible. Having said that, we hope that you find it in your heart to sponsor one or two or a few of these kids based on the necessity of education and the difference it can make in the lives of the poor.

You can send your donation to ERN’s PayPal account at donate@educationrelief.org or email us for instructions on how to send a check, or use alternate methods of payment. If you have further questions about the organization, the process or anything else please send an email to admin@educationrelief.org.

We greatly appreciate your help and support, and so does each sponsored child!

Angela Hamonga is a double-orphan 9th grader who is responsible for taking care of herself and her siblings!

Brian Chinciwela is a 17 year old 9th grader who lives with his parents, siblings and other family in a 10 person-household.

Clara Malenga is a double-orphan 11th grader who lives her uncle and his family