Bangladesh
Education
Updates from the Field - Supporting Success Scholarship Fund
Updates from the FieldUpdates from the Field (or Progress Reports) on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.com by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
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Recent Updates from the Field
- Nov 8, 2009 - News about Supporting Success
- Oct 12, 2009 - Update on Supporting Success
- May 13, 2009 - 5th Grade Coming to the Mackenzie Community School
- Jan 17, 2009 - Presentation of Scholarships
- Dec 21, 2008 - Thank You
- Dec 7, 2008 - The Supporting Success Scholarship Fund in first place in the "Everybody Can Win Challenge"
- Nov 21, 2008 - Supporting Success on GlobalGiving
News about Supporting Success
By Paul Byrne - Assistant Executive Director, November 10, 2009 03:54 PM
Dear Friends and Supporters,
As you know, the Supporting Success Scholarship Fund has been providing scholarships to primary school students in Zambia whose families could not afford the cost of a public education, which was not free. We are now happy to announce that the national government of Zambia has recently decided to provide a free education to all students through the seventh grade. Supporting Success is excited about the potential to expand educational opportunities to many more children in Zambia, but we will monitor the situation to determine the effectiveness of the government's efforts. We will also continue to sponsor those students that are entering the 8th grade with scholarships, and will continue to provide scholarships to our current students when they reach that grade.
Because of the decreased need for our support in Zambia, we are now shifting our fundraising focus to the students that we support in Bangladesh, where we will be providing scholarships to 30 students this year. Our page on GlobalGiving.com now reflects that change.
We look forward to your continued generosity as we continue our efforts to expand access to education in developing countries. Supporting Success will be participating in GlobalGiving's Give More - Get More Challenge from now until December 1st, where each donation will be matched by up to 50%. We also have the chance to win up to $5,000 in bonus prizes. Thank you again for your support, and please donate now!
As you know, the Supporting Success Scholarship Fund has been providing scholarships to primary school students in Zambia whose families could not afford the cost of a public education, which was not free. We are now happy to announce that the national government of Zambia has recently decided to provide a free education to all students through the seventh grade. Supporting Success is excited about the potential to expand educational opportunities to many more children in Zambia, but we will monitor the situation to determine the effectiveness of the government's efforts. We will also continue to sponsor those students that are entering the 8th grade with scholarships, and will continue to provide scholarships to our current students when they reach that grade.
Because of the decreased need for our support in Zambia, we are now shifting our fundraising focus to the students that we support in Bangladesh, where we will be providing scholarships to 30 students this year. Our page on GlobalGiving.com now reflects that change.
We look forward to your continued generosity as we continue our efforts to expand access to education in developing countries. Supporting Success will be participating in GlobalGiving's Give More - Get More Challenge from now until December 1st, where each donation will be matched by up to 50%. We also have the chance to win up to $5,000 in bonus prizes. Thank you again for your support, and please donate now!
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Update on Supporting Success
By Paul Byrne - Assistant International Executive Director, October 13, 2009 10:14 AM
Dear Friends,
As we head into the final quarter of 2009, I can’t help feeling that it has been a very good year for the Supporting Success Scholarship Fund and the children that we sponsor, and I hope that it will only get better. In the past nine months, we have not only sponsored 25 students in Zambia and 20 in Bangladesh (our largest classes ever), but we also built a 5th grade classroom at the Mackenzie Community School in Zambia, which will allow us to keep more students there in school longer. We are now also exploring possibilities to build a school in Bangladesh in the coming months, a project that we are very excited about.
Over the course of this pat school year, our students that you are supporting in Zambia have all been working hard at the Dzikomo Government School. They have been studying diligently and are currently on track to pass their grades at the end of the school year in December. The 5th grade classroom that we built at the Mackenzie Community School with a grant from the Posterus Foundation (www.posterus.org) is complete and is awaiting final approval from the government to allow the new class of 5th graders to start next year. In the meantime, the classroom is being used by the school for its art classes, for small group sessions for students who have fallen behind, and as an exam room. The classroom has been furnished by two volunteers from Switzerland who built benches and tables and who also brought books for the library. IRFF volunteers at the United Nations International School in New York also collected books and school supplies for the students over this past year and have just recently shipped them to Zambia.
Here at Supporting Success, we are now gearing up for our end-of-year fundraiser and would deeply appreciate your continued support for the children whose lives you have touched so profoundly. While we anticipate that the Mackenzie Community School will be able to hold a 5th grade class next year and will therefore not require scholarships for a new class, the students that we sponsored in past years still need your support. We realize that this has been a difficult year for many of us, but without your help these students would not be attending school right now and your continued generosity is critical to allowing them to continue their education for another year.
Please look for Supporting Success in GlobalGiving’s upcoming “Give More - Get More Challenge”, where your donations will be matched by up to 50% beginning November 10th, or donate now to help Supporting Success earn prize money in Facebook’s “America’s Giving Challenge” at http://apps.facebook.com/causes/44294/7071163?m=611088da.
Thank you again for your generosity and support.
As we head into the final quarter of 2009, I can’t help feeling that it has been a very good year for the Supporting Success Scholarship Fund and the children that we sponsor, and I hope that it will only get better. In the past nine months, we have not only sponsored 25 students in Zambia and 20 in Bangladesh (our largest classes ever), but we also built a 5th grade classroom at the Mackenzie Community School in Zambia, which will allow us to keep more students there in school longer. We are now also exploring possibilities to build a school in Bangladesh in the coming months, a project that we are very excited about.
Over the course of this pat school year, our students that you are supporting in Zambia have all been working hard at the Dzikomo Government School. They have been studying diligently and are currently on track to pass their grades at the end of the school year in December. The 5th grade classroom that we built at the Mackenzie Community School with a grant from the Posterus Foundation (www.posterus.org) is complete and is awaiting final approval from the government to allow the new class of 5th graders to start next year. In the meantime, the classroom is being used by the school for its art classes, for small group sessions for students who have fallen behind, and as an exam room. The classroom has been furnished by two volunteers from Switzerland who built benches and tables and who also brought books for the library. IRFF volunteers at the United Nations International School in New York also collected books and school supplies for the students over this past year and have just recently shipped them to Zambia.
Here at Supporting Success, we are now gearing up for our end-of-year fundraiser and would deeply appreciate your continued support for the children whose lives you have touched so profoundly. While we anticipate that the Mackenzie Community School will be able to hold a 5th grade class next year and will therefore not require scholarships for a new class, the students that we sponsored in past years still need your support. We realize that this has been a difficult year for many of us, but without your help these students would not be attending school right now and your continued generosity is critical to allowing them to continue their education for another year.
Please look for Supporting Success in GlobalGiving’s upcoming “Give More - Get More Challenge”, where your donations will be matched by up to 50% beginning November 10th, or donate now to help Supporting Success earn prize money in Facebook’s “America’s Giving Challenge” at http://apps.facebook.com/causes/44294/7071163?m=611088da.
Thank you again for your generosity and support.
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5th Grade Coming to the Mackenzie Community School
By Paul Byrne - Assistant International Executive Director, May 15, 2009 02:09 PM
I am happy to bring you some good news from IRFF and the Supporting Success Scholarship Fund. We recently wrote to you, asking for your input on whether we should use the money we raised for scholarships to build an addition to the Mackenzie Community School in Zambia. The response was overwhelmingly supportive and we were ready to go ahead with the plan when we were invited to apply for a grant to cover the expenses of the project by the Posterus Foundation (www.posterus.org). Our application was accepted and we are now making preparations for the construction.
The expansion to the Mackenzie school will provide space for a 5th grade class, allowing a full class of students – most of whom would have stopped their education after the 4th grade – to stay in school for one more grade every year. I am excited about the project and the opportunity it will offer the children of Mackenzie, and I thank you for your part in making this happen.
The expansion to the Mackenzie school will provide space for a 5th grade class, allowing a full class of students – most of whom would have stopped their education after the 4th grade – to stay in school for one more grade every year. I am excited about the project and the opportunity it will offer the children of Mackenzie, and I thank you for your part in making this happen.
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Presentation of Scholarships
By Paul Byrne - Assistant International Executive Director, January 21, 2009 11:34 AM
On January 10th, IRFF-Zambia presented scholarships to the new class of recipients at the Mackenzie Community School. It was a joyous occasion for the students and their families, as well as for their very proud teachers and our staff.
Each student had their tuition for the year paid for and received a school uniform, shoes, books and all necessary school supplies. They have now started the new school year at Dzikomo Government School and are on their way to further success.
Thank you for making this amazing event possible and for giving these children the powerful opportunity of an education.
Each student had their tuition for the year paid for and received a school uniform, shoes, books and all necessary school supplies. They have now started the new school year at Dzikomo Government School and are on their way to further success.
Thank you for making this amazing event possible and for giving these children the powerful opportunity of an education.
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Thank You
By Paul Byrne - IRFF Assistant International Executive Director, December 22, 2008 06:06 PM
I want to sincerely thank all of our supporters for your contributions to the Supporting Success Scholarship Fund and our efforts in the "Everbody Can Win" Challenge. We received 361 donations from November 15th to December 15th, an incredible number that surprised even us.
In the last few days of the challenge, we were locked in a tight battle with another organization. On the last day, their project received a huge amount of donations and just hours before the deadline it looked like winning the challenge was out of reach for us. Amazingly, however, we were able to fight our way back and took first place in the very final minutes, winning by just seven donations. Needless to say, it was a very exciting - and very nerve wracking - day.
Your donations allowed us to win the $15,000 prize for first place in the challenge. More importantly, it will allow us to expand the reach of Supporting Success to more deserving children in Zambia. The lives of these chidren will be changed by the opportunity of education that you have given to them. While they will still struggle with the challenges of poverty that surround them, they will have the hope of a brighter future and the vision of a better life.
We will be presenting scholarships to this year's class of recipients in Zambia before the end of 2008. I will send you another update shortly afterwards to introduce you to the children whose lives you are changing. Thank you again; have a wonderful holiday.
In the last few days of the challenge, we were locked in a tight battle with another organization. On the last day, their project received a huge amount of donations and just hours before the deadline it looked like winning the challenge was out of reach for us. Amazingly, however, we were able to fight our way back and took first place in the very final minutes, winning by just seven donations. Needless to say, it was a very exciting - and very nerve wracking - day.
Your donations allowed us to win the $15,000 prize for first place in the challenge. More importantly, it will allow us to expand the reach of Supporting Success to more deserving children in Zambia. The lives of these chidren will be changed by the opportunity of education that you have given to them. While they will still struggle with the challenges of poverty that surround them, they will have the hope of a brighter future and the vision of a better life.
We will be presenting scholarships to this year's class of recipients in Zambia before the end of 2008. I will send you another update shortly afterwards to introduce you to the children whose lives you are changing. Thank you again; have a wonderful holiday.
Want to support this project's continued work?
The Supporting Success Scholarship Fund in first place in the "Everybody Can Win Challenge"
By Paul Byrne - Assistant International Director, December 09, 2008 03:30 PM
Dear Supporters,
I hope that this holiday season finds you and your families well. During this time of selfless giving, I would like to tell you about a remarkable opportunity you have to turn a $10 donation into $15,000 to give children in Zambia the opportunity of an education. All of you already donated so generously to the Supporting Success Scholarship Fund in our last fundraising drive on GlobalGiving, so I am hesitant to ask for your generosity again, but this is an incredible opportunity that I cannot pass up, which is why I am writing to you again.
In the middle of the GlobalGiving Project Challenge – in which, with your help, we raised over $11,000 – we were invited to participate in a second challenge, the “Everybody Can Win” Challenge, for projects focused on children’s health and education. This challenge rewards any project that can raise $5,000 from 50 donors before December 15th with a $2,500 bonus. On top of that, it provides prizes of $15,000 to the organization that receives the highest number of donations, and $10,000 to the organization that raises the most money.
Supporting Success has already secured the $2,500 bonus and we are currently in first place in the number of donations received, putting us in position to win the $15,000 bonus if we can hold the position. This is why we need your help.
Please donate just $10 today to help us secure this prize money and reach as many deserving children as possible. $10 is the minimum donation that GlobalGiving will allow, but even this small contribution can help us provide scholarships to over 100 students in Zambia. You can track our progress at http://www.globalgiving.com/dy/v2/everybodywins.html to see how we do in the challenge.
This is a fantastic opportunity for you to concretely change the life of a child that desperately needs your help. Please donate at http://www.globalgiving.com/pr/2400/proj2360a.html, and then pass this message on to your family, friends and colleagues before the challenge ends on December 15th.
Thank you so much for your generosity. I hope that you and your family have a wonderful holiday season.
I hope that this holiday season finds you and your families well. During this time of selfless giving, I would like to tell you about a remarkable opportunity you have to turn a $10 donation into $15,000 to give children in Zambia the opportunity of an education. All of you already donated so generously to the Supporting Success Scholarship Fund in our last fundraising drive on GlobalGiving, so I am hesitant to ask for your generosity again, but this is an incredible opportunity that I cannot pass up, which is why I am writing to you again.
In the middle of the GlobalGiving Project Challenge – in which, with your help, we raised over $11,000 – we were invited to participate in a second challenge, the “Everybody Can Win” Challenge, for projects focused on children’s health and education. This challenge rewards any project that can raise $5,000 from 50 donors before December 15th with a $2,500 bonus. On top of that, it provides prizes of $15,000 to the organization that receives the highest number of donations, and $10,000 to the organization that raises the most money.
Supporting Success has already secured the $2,500 bonus and we are currently in first place in the number of donations received, putting us in position to win the $15,000 bonus if we can hold the position. This is why we need your help.
Please donate just $10 today to help us secure this prize money and reach as many deserving children as possible. $10 is the minimum donation that GlobalGiving will allow, but even this small contribution can help us provide scholarships to over 100 students in Zambia. You can track our progress at http://www.globalgiving.com/dy/v2/everybodywins.html to see how we do in the challenge.
This is a fantastic opportunity for you to concretely change the life of a child that desperately needs your help. Please donate at http://www.globalgiving.com/pr/2400/proj2360a.html, and then pass this message on to your family, friends and colleagues before the challenge ends on December 15th.
Thank you so much for your generosity. I hope that you and your family have a wonderful holiday season.
Links:
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Supporting Success on GlobalGiving
By Paul Byrne - Assistant International Executive Director, November 24, 2008 05:55 PM
Thank you so much for the generosity and compassion that you have shown over the past three weeks of the GlobalGiving Project Challenge. IRFF was able to raise an amazing $10,890 for the Supporting Success Scholarship Fund from 205 donors in 21 short days. We finished in third place out of 70 organizations in the amount of money raised, and second place in the number of donations received, and we earned a permanent spot on GlobalGiving.com
The money that you have given and raised will allow children in the impoverished community of Mackenzie, Zambia the opportunity to continue their education and fulfill their potential. Doors will open to them that otherwise would have remained tightly closed, and opportunities to lift themselves and their families out of the vicious cycle of poverty will be within their grasp. On their behalf, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
To learn more about the Supporting Success Scholarship Fund and IRFF’s other programs, please visit our website: www.irff.org.
The money that you have given and raised will allow children in the impoverished community of Mackenzie, Zambia the opportunity to continue their education and fulfill their potential. Doors will open to them that otherwise would have remained tightly closed, and opportunities to lift themselves and their families out of the vicious cycle of poverty will be within their grasp. On their behalf, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
To learn more about the Supporting Success Scholarship Fund and IRFF’s other programs, please visit our website: www.irff.org.
Links:
