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My mother died last month. She was 79 and had battled breast cancer for many years. Mothers are our touchstones, our nuclei, our launching points, our safe places, our often one-and-only sources of unconditional love…. at least that is what they are meant to be. I was lucky. Mine was. Then, just weeks later, I lost a cherished friend. Both women were kind, fun-loving, generous, beautiful and greatly impactful (in their own ways), and (like countless others) both lost their lives to metastatic breast cancer.
In Tanzania, through our Unite Scholars & Mentorship Program, we recently sponsored Raymond Mgeni to complete his MD. He is now in residency at a small rural hospital. Week after week Raymond sees women come in with advanced and devastating Stage 4 breast cancer. They all face certain and painful deaths. Shocked by this sad reality, Raymond is now preparing a grant request to Unite to launch an outreach campaign to teach communities about breast cancer and the critical need for self-exams and early detection. A small step perhaps, but, at least in this tiny remote corner of planet Earth, it is A STEP, and I am excited to be part of it.
Unite’s commitment to educating and mentoring highly talented-yet-impoverished youth across Tanzania through our Unite Scholars & Mentorship Program will help raise leaders of tomorrow (teachers, doctors, scientists, engineers, accountants, entrepreneurs, government officials, etc.) who will be equipped to question, investigate, create and ultimately move the needle for change… not only in the battle against breast cancer, but in all areas of life as they pursue their dreams and their passions. That is our goal.
Last week a few of our current Unite Scholars gathered for a week-long training in Dar Es Salaam. There our professionally-trained Unite Mentors taught them such elements of our Unite Life-Skills Program as “You are a Brand,” “Effective Communication,” “Networking,” “Team Work,” “Smart Use of Social Media,” “What is Leadership,” “Keys to Academic & Social Success,” “Creative Problem Solving,” “Time Management,” “Feedback vs Criticism,” and more. Each scholar submitted reports based upon his or her experiences and the response was overwhelmingly positive. They determined who among them were strongest in different subjects and created their own internal support systems, especially to help successfully navigate their most challenging subjects of Chemistry, Math, Biology and Physics. With their mentors, our scholars also spent a long, back-breaking day in the hot sun digging, preparing and planting an organic vegetable garden to help feed a local community in need — embracing the spirit of volunteerism and feeling empowered through the knowledge that everyone has something to give. (Click HERE to see a video of this work.)
Now our scholars are home for the Christmas holiday, and their incredulous parents continue to contact our Unite Scholars Program Director Anty Marche with the same question: “What did you do to my child?” Once shy, timid, discouraged and run down by life’s challenges, since joining our Unite program, these teens have morphed into confident young men and women who, with their heads held high, are excited about their futures.
This is the real work of Unite — to infuse love, connection, education, opportunity, joy and hope in the unlikeliest of places and where there once was none.
Following my mother’s death we created The Kit Merriman Scholarship Fund for Girls in her honor. To date, through the extreme kindness of so many who loved her, we have raised nearly $32,000, which will allow us to sponsor the eight girls photographed above to complete their higher secondary education, Form 5 and Form 6, their “A-Levels” or ~ 11th and 12th grades. Less than 3% of Tanzanians enroll in A-Levels (11th & 12th grades), so this is truly an extraordinary opportunity for these girls.
Next month I leave for Tanzania again. I will meet these eight “Kit Girls” in person and many dozens of other qualified candidates who are currently in line for scholarships. (The number of new scholars we can accept will depend on the success of our end-of-year fundraising. To support this effort, donate here.)
Unite’s sponsorship includes:
All school fees & mandatory “contributions” (e.g. school electricity, exam fees, security, cooks & food, etc.)
Uniforms (school, sports, religious outfits, shoes, etc.), all school books & school supplies
All boarding necessities (trunks & padlocks, cleaning materials, mattress, pillow, sheets, mosquito nets, towels, bucket, plates & utensils, etc.)
Undergarments, feminine hygiene items and all necessary personal items (for students with special needs, Unite will covers all of their unique requirements -- e.g. reading glasses, skin care, medicines, etc.)
Health insurance
Transport to and from school and the students’ homes for all school holidays
Transport to and supplies for regular meetings with Unite Mentors over school holidays
Two week-long training programs with Unite Mentors and Advisors using the Unite Life Skills & Professional Development Curriculum in Dar Es Salaam. Transport, lodging & food covered
A laptop and smartphone (to facilitate learning and communications with our Unite team and mentors) along with airtime and Internet access
Access to the Shule Direct online educational platform to enhance their learning
Tutoring support over school holidays as needed
Volunteering opportunities with our Unite Team to empower our scholars to empower others in need
Educational field trips within Tanzania with Unite Mentors and fellow Unite Scholars
Opportunity to speak at an international Unite Scholars Symposium after their Form 6 graduations
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To each and every one of you who has supported Unite…
You make this work possible.
Your impact is real. The change is powerful.
I am grateful beyond measure & wish you and yours
a safe, joyous & inspired holiday season.
Asante sana! Thank you.
I dedicate this next year of Unite - 2020 - to my mother Kit Merriman and my friend Rebecca Timlin-Scalera. May their truly extraordinary spirits, boundless energy and passion for life inspire, drive and motivate us all to SHOW UP, love and care for one another as best we can.
Katharine “Kit” Merriman
Rebecca Timlin-Scalera