About Our UNITE SCHOLARS Program

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life.

~Mary Oliver, The Summer Day

 

OUR SELECTION CRITERIA * OUR DELIVERABLES * 2024 PROGRAM OVERVIEW * UNITE CLUB PROGRAM

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Educating, mentoring, empowering & preparing extraordinary Tanzanian youth to become global change agents.

 

 

The GOAL:

To break the vicious cycle of poverty, oppression, and wasted human potential by empowering uniquely talented yet impoverished youth across Tanzania with access to education through A-Levels, university, and beyond, and — through our engaged team of international advisors and mentors — nurture creative and independent thinking and the development of personal and professional life skills necessary for success as active, engaged, and productive global citizens.

THE CHALLENGE:

  • Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest number (202 million) of children & adolescents on Earth who are in school but not learning the fundamental subjects of reading and math, with nearly 9 out of 10 between the ages of ~6 and 14 not meeting minimum proficiency levels.

  • Only ~28% of children enroll in lower secondary school (~middle school and grades 9 and 10 in the USA), and ~3% in higher secondary school (A-levels or the approx. equivalent of grades 11 and 12 in the USA).

  • Only 0.7% of students in Tanzania ever even enroll in tertiary (higher) education.

  • Of those who are able to complete their studies, there exists a widespread challenge of being unprepared & unequipped to engage successfully in high-level and/or international professional environments.

  • A 2018 UNICEF study assessed Tanzanian high-school-level students’ knowledge of and proficiency in applying the life skills of academic grit (perseverance and passion for long-term goals), self-confidence, problem-solving abilities, and self-control (all skills that have been shown to greatly affect and predict students’ success in school and throughout one’s life) and found that only:

    • 4% of students showed high levels of academic grit

    • 2% of students demonstrated high levels of self-control

    • Less than 1% of students demonstrated high-level problem-solving capabilities.

The PROCESS:

  1. SEARCH the entire country of Tanzania through the growing world of Unite Scholars, teammates, partners, and contacts;

  2. IDENTIFY & VET extraordinary and uniquely talented youth who meet our strict qualification criteria;

  3. ADMIT new scholars into our A-Level program;

  4. SUPPORT each scholar’s academic, personal, and professional growth & development by pairing them with high-performing MENTORS who then engage in regular communications & hands-on guidance and coaching;

  5. ENCOURAGE our scholars to think independently, to examine & question societal norms, to advocate for themselves & others, and to develop their own solutions to life’s challenges;

  6. REQUIRE our scholars to remain in high academic standing and meet our strict reporting requirements.

  7. INVITE our successful scholars to become mentors themselves to further grow and expand this cycle of empowerment, helping upcoming students to envision, manifest & achieve their BIG DREAMS;

  8. WALK with our scholars throughout their journeys as they strive to become leaders and change agents of tomorrow.

 

Sources: UNESCO; UNICEF; Girls Education Collaborative; Pambazuka; Nation Master