Wells Mountain Foundation

When Jordyn and I traveled to West Africa last winter, we were very excited to meet the WMF Scholars in Senegal and Ghana. It was a struggle not speaking French, and fortunately, we had the very generous and patient support, guidance, and translation skills of WMF Scholar Jean-François Touré. I recently caught up with him and asked him to tell the WMF community a little bit about himself:

Jean, where are you from and what did you study in school?
I am from Senegal and I have Bachelor In Business Administration. And I am recently graduated in Finance.

What kind of volunteer activity and community service do you enjoy?
I did a lot of volunteer activities and community services with the Senegal YMCA. I Have been volunteering through the Y for 7 years now. I participated up to 5 International camps of reconstruction and reforestation all over My Home country and Gambia. As a conscious youth, I have been involved in fighting against Infections and dizzies such as HIV, Malaria. I have also worked with kids for couple years trough the YMCA patronage program implemented in order to build strong Kids.

What was your most memorable experience in college?
My most memorable experience in College is my graduation day and International fair day at college. The main raison is, that day was a mix of happiness and a little sadness. I was so happy to be graduated but at the same time I was also sad of being conscious that it is a goodbye day with friends after 4 years of studying and interacting together. I was like am I going to see them again before my days ends? For some I we will see each other , but other, Never again until my life ends. Can you just imagine that confusing mixture of those opposite emotions?

What are you doing in the United States now?
I am doing a training program of 18 months at The YMCA of the Rockies. My training plan concerns Human resources Management. I have been here for 6 months now improving my English, getting new skills and I really realize that time is going so fast and am having a very good experience.

Juuko, a student of medicine at Kampala International University, passionately advocates for HIV/AIDS education. He wants to share this with the WMF Family:

This is JUUKO ABDU Ugandan by nationality a new scholar of wells mountain foundation, chanced and privileged to continue with my bachelors in medicine and surgery in UGANDA,at Kampala international university.

Let me extend my special thanks to wells mountain staff, Directors, Donors and all well wishers for work well done, I promised to provide health education to the family members, their communities and the entire world as per the chance got to under take medicine.

I would ask all my fellow colleagues of wells mountain foundation to read hard and use the chance given to us because its our obligation as students and mostly us members of wells family who hope to go back to our communities and volunteer in types of worked per skills attained.
So our first TOPIC will be about HIV/AIDS, do you 80% deaths in AFRICA die of AIDS because of ignorance about it.

Did you know that a couple can have one person infected and the other not for a long time ?

Did you know that an infected mother can give birth to a HIV negative baby?

Did you know an infected couple can survive for more than 30 years?

So colleagues in Haiti, Ghana, Senegal, Peru am here.

I and my colleagues in Uganda we want to open eyes of many people out there and the entire world.

MOTHER TO CHILD TRANSMISSION OF HIV/AIDS (MTCT) OR VERTICAL HIV TRANSMISSION

Vertical transmission means that HIV passes directly from the infected mother into the fetus or infant.

Stigma
Stigma is particularly strong surrounding mother-to-child transmission. The very phrase “mother-to-child” itself may be stigmatizing as it puts all the responsibility of transmission on the mother and none on the father of the child. Stigma stops women coming forward to get themselves tested. It reduces their choices when it comes to health care and family life once they are diagnosed as HIV positive and has a negative effect on their quality of life. Equally troubling is the lack of sympathy or respect given to pregnant women with HIV especially in the developing nations where they are open to blame, ridicule and rejection. For example, in rural Uganda (Rakai) a man stated, “If a pregnant woman is sick and has premature baby who die before 3 months, then we know she is affected (infected with HIV) and turn away from her. This is our (HIV) test!”

Timing at HIV transmission
Worldwide, over the past two years, about 1.6 million HIV-infected children were born. Over 95% of these children were born in underdeveloped countries.

The exact time of HIV transmission to the fetus during pregnancy is unknown. It has been shown to occur as early as the fifteenth week of gestation, at or near the time of delivery and through breast-feeding.

Breast-feeding by mothers with HIV infection established before pregnancy increases the risk of vertical transmission by 14%. When a mother develops primary HIV infection while breast-feeding, the risk of transmission rises to 29%. In general, it is believed that 50% of HIV-positive babies are infected during the last two months of pregnancy and about 50% are infected during the birthing process or through the early months of breast-feeding (Miotti et al; 1999).

A working definition of the timing of maternal HIV transmission has been established to differentiate infants in utero (in the uterus) from those infected near the time of or during delivery (perinatally). In utero infection occurs in approximately 20% of HIV-infected infants. Children who are infected in utero have a more rapid progression to AIDS and generally become symptomatic during the first year of life. Those infected perinatally have no detectable HIV at birth but demonstrate HIV in the blood by 4 to 6 months of age. These children constitute the majority of HIV-infected infants and have a slower progression to AIDS, about 8% per year (Diaz et al; 1996).

Breast-feeding: Global summary
• Where no drugs or other methods of prevention are administered and the baby is breast-fed by its HIV-positive mother, the risk of infection is about 30 – 35%.
• Where no drugs are administered and the baby is not breast-fed by its HIV-positive mother, the risk of infection is about 20%.
• Where a one-month course of A2T (Zidovudine) is administered and he baby is not breast-fed, the risk of infection is about 10%.
• Where a one-month course of A2T (Zidovudine) is administered and the baby is breast-fed by its HIV-positive mother for up to six months, the risk of infection is about 18% at that age.
• Where two antiretroviral, 22T and STC (Lamivudine) are administered at the time of labour, and to mother and baby for one week following delivery, the risk of infection at six weeks of life, with the breast feeding, is around 11%. If the drugs are given from the 36th week of pregnancy, continued in labour, and given for a week after delivery, the risk of infection at six weeks of life, when the baby is breast-fed is about 9% (background Brief UNAIDS, 1999).

Rate of transmission
The worldwide rate of HIV transmission from mother, without drug therapy, to child varies geographically. In Africa, maternal transmission is as high as 50%, producing about 1600 infected babies a day.
In Europe and United States, without he use of antiretroviral drugs the overall rate is 25% to 30% producing less than 500 infected babies a year. The U.S Public Health Service and 16 other National Health Organizations recommended that HIV testing be offered to all women at risk prior to or at the time of pregnancy. Through year 2002, only six states, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Michigan, New York and Tennessee require health care providers to HIV-test every pregnant woman as early as possible in her pregnancy unless she refuses. The rate of vertical HIV retransmission in New York State has decreased dramatically from 25% to 3.5% since the implementation of its 1996 law requiring:
(a) HIV counseling and offer of an HIV test to all pregnant women, and
(b) Infant HIV testing and maternal notification. Because of this law, over 99% of HIV-infected NewYork women and their children have been linked to counseling and medical care.

New born: HIV positive
Because newborns who test HIV positive may not be HIV-infected, infected mothers in developed nations are advised not to breast-feed their children. The reason a new born can test positive and not be infected is because the mother’s HIV antibodies can enter the fetus during pregnancy (gestation). Because of the presence of maternal HIV antibody, the new born may appear to be infected but is not. The HIV antibody will be lost with time and the child will revert to seronegativity (No HIV antibody in the serum). Mothers in underdeveloped nations have been advised to breast-feed because of the lack of available health care and nutrition. On average, an estimated 350,000 new borns worldwide become HIV-infected through breast-feeding each year between 1997 and the beginning of 2003.

Perinatal Transmission
Many factors that influence perinatal HIV transmission are not known; but, influencing factors do exist because one mother gave birth to an HIV-infected child followed by an infected child who was followed by an infected child (Dickson, 1988)!

There are multiple factors involved in HIV transmission risk, including maternal immunity and viral load, placental conditions, route of delivery, duration of membrane rupture, and fetal factors (birth order, gestational age). This knowledge has led to trials of various interventions, such as drug therapy to reduce viral load (the number of HIV RNA strands present in the mother’s blood at the time of birth) and cesarean section to reduce HIV exposure during delivery.

Viral RNA load Associated with Perinatal HIV transmission – Although the close association between stage of HIV infection in a pregnant woman and likelihood of perinatal transmission has been established, there are no precise numerical criteria for pregnancies at high and low risk of transmission.

Breast-feeding, drug therapy( treatment ) and HIV transmission
Without question, one of the most significant accomplishments of the HIV/AIDS era has been the dramatic reduction in transmission of HIV between mother and child. In America, from 1992 until the present time, perinatal transmission has declined over 80% and its now possible using combination anti-HIV drug therapy, to achieve transmission rates as low as 1% – 2%, compared to 25% – 30% two decades ago.

In 1999, two studies that were perhaps the first, demonstrated the relationship of viral load and mother-to-child breast-feeding HIV transmission. The higher the maternal viral load the greater the chance for HIV transmission via breast-feeding (Katzenstein et al; 1999, Plaegaer et al; 1999).

Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor Monotherapy that appears to Reduce HIV Transmission During Pregnancy (Zidovudine, Lamivudine)
In 1999, researchers at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore gave HIV-infected women a single dose of nevirapine (a non-nucleoside and another dose to their infants within 3 days of birth. The infection rate dropped from 25% to 13%. At a cost of $4, the nevirapine regimen is some 70 times cheaper than A2T given during the last month of pregnancy.

REMAINS JUUKO ABDU ( UGANDA )
juuko.abdu [at ] yahoo.com

THANKS WELLS MOUNTAIN FOR THIS CHANCE

Hello WMF Scholars,

Thank you to all of you who have shared with us your semester grades. Overall, we have been very impressed with your excellent performance and wish you well for the rest of the school year.

Please remember that volunteering and community service are fundamental to the Wells Mountain Foundation community. We welcome stories and letters about your volunteering activities and will share them on this blog.

Warmest Wishes,

Katherine Cheng
Director, WMF

There is much to admire about the WMF Scholars. As a group, they possess a passionate commitment to education and service, alongside a cheerful appreciation for our WMF community. This became very clear when just a few months ago when our new scholarship students received notification that they had been accepted as a WMF Scholar. We were deluged with Thank You emails, and very quickly we realized that it was actually we who had much to be thankful for.

With the downturn in the stock market and, thus, WMF’s reserves, it may be an act of lunacy to take on 12 new students. However, when you read these excepts from their notes of appreciation, we hope you will view their addition to our family, not as an act of lunacy, but as an act of faith – give young people a chance, and the money will come.

From Wilson Mwanja: … The WMF scholarship has come at a period when I was about to drop out of my medical studies program as I was becoming overwhelmed by the demand of tuition payments. I do promise to study hard and work tirelessly and keep the WMF candle burning. May you be blessed as you serve mankind.

From Wisdom Fiabumor…: It is said that a thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but also the parent of all virtues. Knowing you at WMF has made me a better person. I am really excited and I cannot appreciate you enough for giving me the amazing opportunity to walk this path of transformation. It is giving a huge new dimension to my life.

From Juuko Abdu:… Full of smiles is Juuko, a new scholar of WMF! I want to extend my special thanks to have been given this chance. So happy to have new people in my life. Thanks so much again!

From Jurugo Roberts Ali…: I am extremely happy! This scholarship will really act as my gateway to fulfilling my dreams of alleviating poverty and reducing the AIDS scourge among youth. It is my duty to study hard and become a medical doctor in a few years.

Congratulations again to our new class of WMF Scholars! We are so happy to welcome you to the Wells Mountain Family Foundation family.

The summer has been wonderfully busy and productive. Keep reading for more updates…

Summer Trip Scores in Haiti

WMF president, Tom Wells traveled to Haiti in July to visit the Kenscoff YMCA, funded by WMF last year. He also observed the play-off soccer games involving several teams formed during a two-week YMCA soccer camp. About 140 Haitian youth honed their soccer skills during the intensive training. A national YMCA team was selected who played other teams from Haiti. WMF sponsored the awards dinner and ceremony at the conclusion of the soccer camp. Jim Delia, one of Tom’s law partners, ran the program this year.

Literacy

We continue to enroll children under the age of five in the Imagination Library program here in Addison County, Vermont. Over 900 children now receive a new, hardcover book every month until age five, at no charge to the family. The cost of the books and mailing is covered by donations from organizations like WMF. We recently assumed responsibility to raise all necessary funds to cover the cost of Imagination Library for our five town area, a potential of 600 children or $18,000 a year!

Additionally, we also donated…

–dictionaries, almanacs and leveled reader paperbacks to the Addison County Back to School Shop. This shop is set-up in town for one day and is designed to aid families of limited financial means with the purchase of school supplies, at very reduced prices, for their children. Many children visited the shop and readied for and annual fist day of school.

–an assortment of picture books to the Read Now! Program in Paterson, New Jersey.

– five sets of Dorothy Canfield Fisher books and Red Clover books (40 books in each set) at cost to the Tari Shattuck Education Foundation. They, in turn, donate the books to the five local elementary school libraries in the Bristol area.

We once again ran our Book Angel program in 2008. With the assistance of WMF’s literacy committee and other Book Angel friends, we selected and wrapped books for over 250 children.

New Board Member…

Christopher Lutz, of Madison, NJ, joined our board in early 2009. Chris’ day job is with Morgan Stanley Smith and Barney as the Senior VP with the Global Wealth Management group. He has a healthy sense of community service spirit and is one of the powerhouses behind the annual Hoop-A-Paluza, an event that has raised over two million dollars for a variety of children’s charities in the NJ/NY area since 2002.

Exciting news! The new scholarship students, set to start September 2009, have been selected, and they are truly a promising group of students. We are particularly thrilled by how our program has grown in size and reach. Notably, four of our students will be studying in Uganda, marking the first time we’ll be empowering students in East Africa. To highlight another change from previous years, four of this year’s students study at the Bergen Community College in Paramus, NJ. Please join me in welcoming all these incredibly special students into the WMF family.

Studying at Kampala International University in Uganda…

Wilson Steeve Mwanja

Country: Uganda

Field: Medicine

Wilson Mwanja has volunteered as a Clinical Officer at a non-governmental health care services center responding to the challenges of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Uganda. Among his responsibilities was providing counseling and clinical services to persons infected by HIV/AIDS and their family members and others affected.

Wilson grew up in rural Uganda, his mother having never gone to school. He will be the first of his family, including 4 siblings, to attain a university degree. His intention is focused and determined: “My desire to serve as a professional health care worker begun at an early age when I started seeing children that die before their first day or shortly after, become permanently disabled from child preventable diseases…, and later on the scourge of HIV/AIDS….”

He is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Surgery.

Juuko Abdu

Country: Uganda

Field: Medicine

Juuko Abdu, also a native of Uganda, just completing his first full year of study in medicine. His father is deceased and he is the eldest child. “I had to find a way forward to help my young ones also to finish their studies,” he says. He continues to hold a part-time job in computer services while in school.

Nonetheless, he finds time to volunteer: “I am a kind of person who loves to help the needy and poor, that’s why ..join volunteer organizations and associations at all levels….” Among these is the Uganda Red Cross Society Bushenyi Branch where he has been an active and reliable member of their youth-link. A reference from that organization looks forward to benefits to come from Juuko in the future, as he is a lifetime member and dedicated to its mission: “Your help towards this young man’s prospering in his medical course will be a great honour to our community.”

His eventual career would be in family medicine in Uganda, caring for “needy families and individuals.”

Jurugo  Roberts Ali

Country: Uganda (Sudanese native)

Field: Medicine

Having grown up in a refugee camp, Jurugo Roberts Ali plans to live and work in South Sudan after completing his studies. His family has been repatriated to that country where his 8 siblings are in secondary school. He remained in Uganda to finish his education, paid for large by a now-deceased aunt and his parents. “The few goats and cows our family had have been used to pay my 2 years in medical school,” he says.

 Among the top students in Uganda in 1999, both citizens and refugees, he was awarded a scholarship to  continue in his secondary school. As a refugee child he admired the doctors and nurses caring for people in the camp, and has wanted to emulate them since. Among his goals are to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa, “to fight poverty, ignorance and corruption in Sudan,” and to “help in the reduction of maternal and child mortality rates in Sudan ….”

 Jackline Anyango

Country: Kenya

Field: Medicine 

Jackline Anyango’s ambition is to become a cardiac specialist. Her family includes three siblings still in primary school and parents who are a school teacher and business woman. Her participation in a medical degree program is highly unusual for young women in Kenya and her community is both supportive and recognizes her abilities. Recently she had to suspend her studies when her father was injured but persevered and returned nearly a year later.

She has already contributed to the health and well-being of women and young people by raising HIV/AIDS awareness through the Youth Education program in her village. She plans to return to Kenya to the benefit of her country, hoping to make an impact both as a woman in a male-dominated field and as a doctor. She believes that managing preventable disease by education is the key to success in fighting poverty and wants to be part of that effort.

Jackline is about to embark on her third year in medical school. “I’m …determined to show the society that each and every person is capable of carrying out any activity given opportunity.”

 

Studying at Bergen County Community College in Paramus, New Jersey…

 Angello Villarreal

Angello Villarreal

Country: Peru

Field: Exercise Science and certification as a Personal Trainer and Massage Therapist.

Having already worked as an Assistant Basketball Coach at Claretiano High School and as a Gym Supervisor at Bergen, Angello plans to be a sports educator when he returns home. One of Angello’s accomplishments at Bergen Community College has been to create a student Fitness Club.

 “Being the oldest child in the family, I had the responsibility to teach and be the example for the younger ones of my family. That is how I found my passion for teaching.” He explains that he is studying in the US because “Exercise Science or Physical Education are not popular or even good in my country, so I decided to come to America [where]..the country has better athletes and the best sports history in the world.” To ease the financial burden on his father, Angello has chosen an accelerated course load to complete his studies sooner than commonly done by international students at BCC. When he is working, he plans to contribute to the family income so that his younger brother may also get a good education.

Claudia Ortega

Claudia Ortega

Country: Colombia

Field: Business Administration and Management

Claudia graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering and worked with her father as an electrical contractor. When she came to the US she had tried and failed to get work in her field in her home country but the opportunities simply were not there. Knowing no English she first enrolled in an ESL course where she excelled and continued on to a degree course in business management at BCC. Her father continued to support her education until his death last year.

As well as being a student, Claudia is a wife and mother. She says “I …spend my time as best as I can between my studies, volunteering at my daughter’s school, exercising and working on my professional preparation: improving my resume [and] reading business magazines and newspapers….”

Her professors spoke highly of her academic achievements, and her adeptness balancing the demands of home and school. With one semester to go, Claudia is admirably diligent in pursuing her own dreams as well as building a life for her family.

Papa Faty

Papa Faty

Country: Senegal

Field: Engineering

Papa grew up in a farming community in desert-like conditions. In his region only about a third of the population has any formal education and young people migrate to the cities to find work. His mother encountered numerous difficulties, including her husband’s objections, to find ways to earn money for her children’s education so Papa’s studies were interrupted by lack of fund. He was eventually able to complete high school and mechanic’s training. Papa’s elder brother lives in the US and has been providing a home for him while attending BCC.

The poverty in his home country as it is, Papa is nonetheless committed to the needy here in the US as a member of the International Student Association at BCC, “serving food to homeless people,” as well as other volunteer activities. He has used his native language skills to get a job tutoring in other students in French.

“My current goal is to …go back to my country. I would love to contribute in the development of Senegal, and its education. …I am very interested in alternative energy sources and have been learning a lot about global warming and [its] importance… in the future of the world. I believe that being able to utilize affordable solar energy in [Senegal] would take my country from poverty to prosperity.”

Katerina Dimitrova

Katerina Dimitrova

Country: Macedonia

Field: Business Administration – International Trade

Katerina jumped at the change to learn English when it was introduced to local schools upon the demise of the communist government in Macedonia. With that knowledge she began here college education in the English language and literature program but wanted to go further and study business. Accepted to Berkeley College, she found that despite her 4.0 GPA, she was unable to afford to continue due to economic constraints. She transferred to BCC at that time to continue in her chosen field.

At home in Macedonia, Katerina has complemented her academic work by volunteering as an English tutor and contributing to park, river and beach clean-up projects. She is currently active in student government, is on the Student Activities Board organizing events, and belongs to other campus organizations volunteering her time and energies.. She was recently elected President of her campus sorority.

While she hopes to continue on the graduate studies in international business, Katerina wants to return home to make a difference there. She writes “I plan to go back to my beautiful country and try to implement my knowledge the best I can to help my country’s economic development.”

 

 

 Studying in Ghana…

 Gaddiel Kumtsiah Nana

Country: Ghana

Field: Sociology/Philosophy/Theatre and Arts/Archaeology

Gaddiel is the second of four sons, whose father is deceased and whose mother operates a bakery. The elder brother has continued in his father’s footsteps as a peasant farmer and providing for the family. The two younger boys remain in school. The family’s household and educational expenses are borne by his mother and brother, though they have had financial help from family friends and through Gaddiel’s own contributed while working as an Account Assistant in a marketing firm. He has also been involved in volunteer activities at church and with the Environmental Protection Agency through his secondary school.

An asset to his secondary school beyond the excellence of his grades, Gaddiel won awards in a number of inter-school quiz competitions and held the leadership position of Senior Prefect of the school. While he studied Business Accounting in secondary school, he hopes to attend law school after achieving a B.A. As with many of our scholars, Gaddiel plans to work toward improving social and economic conditions in his home country.

Gedzah Emmanuel Kwaku

Country: Ghana

Field: Commercial Arts (Textiles) 

Gedzah has a large family headed by his widowed father. He has three older sisters and both a younger sister and three younger brothers. Since his mother’s death, when he was just 6, his father has had a difficult time supporting this large family. This scholar has  has contributed to both his family’s support and that of his own education.

After completing his secondary education, Gedzah volunteered within the teaching service of his former school.  He is described by the headmaster as “a very brilliant boy” and another teacher wrote that he was “diligent.” Unfortunately, he was deceived by an offer of financial assistance in return for three years’ labor, only to be refused the promised funds after fulfilling his end of the bargain. Nonetheless, Gedzah enrolled in his degree program.  As a result his father had to sell some of his land for him to attend. In evaluating his application, the WMF Board was impressed by the  determination shown to complete his education. 

Edmund Nana Yaw Nyarko

Country: Ghana

Field: Agriculture

Edmund plans to become an agricultural economist “in order to improve the productivity and al aspects of agriculture in Ghana and Africa… [T]o identify and solve problems …especially in developing countries… since agriculture is the backbone of most developing countries. I will serve wherever my services are needed.” His volunteer work has been with a campaign to raise awareness of tuberculosis and encourage prevention. His work history includes being a salesperson for a gift shop.

Edmund’s family includes only sisters and his parents, both of whom are employed. His father is a driver for a fast food company and his mother is a petty trader, with whom he works during term breaks at the local market. He comes from a middle class community by Ghanaian standards but his family is nonetheless unable to help Edmund and fully finance the secondary education of the sisters in school. As a result he delayed beginning college but has now completed his first year toward a Bachelor’s degree.

Wisdom Fiabumor

Country: Ghana

Field: Computer Technology and Applications

This scholar’s goal is clear and his career path clearly set out. “My career objective is to be a computer programmer and a network engineer…. I hope to live in my country Ghana and serve the nation by [imparting] computer knowledge to the rural communities….”

Wisdom has already received some computer and software training, which will provide opportunities for work in many areas of a developing economy.. He is also fortunate enough to have a small ongoing monthly stipend to put toward his B.Sc. was awarded by excelling in an annual scholarship exam. Additionally, has gained experience in both paid employment and volunteer work at a computer training center.

He clearly has the innate customer service skills for someone with his future intention. Wisdom’s employer at an internet café and business service center in Accra says that Wisdom has “an excellent work ethic, … is prompt, hardworking and capable of multi-tasking.., [with] amicable interactions with both customers and colleagues.” His part-time work there continues to fund his education.

Marianne Ndiaye, Senegal

My name is Marianne and I am a Wells Mountain Foundation Scholar. I am from Senegal. This is the first time I am writing on this blog. I don’t know if many are in the same situation, but I have classes on the weekend. This is professional training and allows me to work during the week. For me personally, this allows me to review my lessons and master them before I return to class. Going to school on Sunday is difficult for me. This is the only thing I don’t like, but, by and large, everything is working out fine. The scholarship is for me the realization of a dream. The members of WMF and the Senegal YMCA are the angels responsible for this dream becoming a reality. For this, I thank you all. My words will never be sufficient to express my gratitude. But remember, that in this part of the world, in Senegal, you have given new hope to a young woman; you have procured for her a good and secure life, because without education, it is difficult, almost impossible to accomplish this here in Senegal.

Gaspar Edmond, Haiti

I do not know how much I must express my feelings of gratitude has regard all the people of WMF, before finding my friend Reynold Jack to put me in contact with this foundation, I found myself in a situation very painful face has my studies, that is to say I could not really continue my academic works because of the economic difficulties. I was obliged to stop my studies during three years and this is with the help of the foundation which allows me to turn over the university and I hope if it continues to support me in less than two years I would have to quit general medicine and I will be able to prevail my country and especially in the place I come of Haiti which is the case.

Iddrisu:

Most people think angels are some kind of flying creatures in the super-natural world living high up the skies. Even though I share similar sentiment, I also believe that there are even more angels living right here on earth. These are people who touch lives and makes difference in the life of others.

I have lived most of my life helping others in need of my service, especially in areas of academia since my days at secondary school to my present day in the university. At some point consulted an elderly friend and complaint to him that I felt within me that I was helping others and no one really cared about me, he encouraged me not to stop which I adhered to. Little did I know that an angel in the name Wells Mountain Foundation was about to visit me and make a big difference in my life.

I first came to know about the Wells Mountain Foundation one day during my search for a means of financing my education on the internet at the University’s Information Communication Technology Centre, and God being so good, I the homepage of the Wells Mountain Foundation appeared. I went through the stories of some of the scholarship recipients and their stories were just like mine. I made the right move and downloaded the application form and in a week’s time I was able to complete the forms, added the necessary documents and posted it to Mr. Thomas Wells. After sometime I was informed to go for an interview, from this time I knew I was coming close to getting the scholarship. I went for the interview and was able to pass successfully and was subsequently granted a full course scholarship to finish my tertiary education.

For me the Wells Mountain Foundation is a Non governmental Organization which is committed to enhancing literacy and the arts in developing economies. It has affiliations with many other small Non Governmental Organizations who are working very hard in those developing countries to champion the core operational objectives of Wells Mountain Foundation. The main source of finance for the Foundation is predominantly from the donations of benevolent organizations and private individuals. The Wells Mountain Foundation is bringing smiles to the faces of many underprivileged students and people in Sub-Sahara Africa and other developing countries. I believe that the Wells Mountain Foundation has a bright future to do more than they are currently doing and I pray for God’s guidance in this direction.

Through Wells Mountain Foundation, I have overcome many challenges and hardships. As at the time I was applying for the scholarship, my life was virtually in shambles because I did not have anybody not even my family was able to give me the money required for my fees, but right now I look at my past and my face beams with smiles with the nostalgic remembrance of the painful sorrows of yesteryears now behind me. I could not afford my school fees and my expenses on campus not to talk of getting a descent three square meals a day. This was a very tough time in my life. I lived through hardship in my first year in the university, at some point I decided to defer the course but my colleagues saw that I was very good academically and so encouraged me not defer. Thanks to Wells Mountain Foundation I’m still in school and my life has got a new light of hope and renaissance.

I can now afford my expenses in school and the only thing I now think of is to study hard and get good grades to better my chances of getting a good job after my first degree. And this will enable me to take care of my family especially my younger brother called “Zaidan” who is very dear to my heart and I do not want him to go through the worst things I had to endure. The scholarship money I get from the foundation every semester takes me closer to achieving my dreams.

I have enjoyed enormous successes since I started getting support from the Wells Mountain Foundation. Apart from the money I get for my expenses, the kind of encouragement and advise I get from Kelvin, Katherine and Jordyn is very motivating. Through the assistance I get from the foundation, I am able to maintain my first class status and now I am able to understand the things they train us in and I really appreciate the Business Administration programme I am pursuing. I still have fresh memories of my encounter with Jordyn and Katherine in Accra. It was a very important day and a day whose memory will last forever. The dinner we had that night was very spectacular and that was the first time I ate in such a beautiful place. The “Theatre Spectacular 6” I witnessed the following day was more spectacular as children displayed their talents in the arts. In fact, I was very impressed with the performance.

I will end by saying that The Wells Mountain Foundation has contributed has contributed immensely to the education of we the scholarship recipients and has touched the lives of many more and I hope this will continue. My life has taken a different direction towards hope thanks to The Wells Mountain Foundation. I really appreciate your effort at making me a responsible person in the near future. To all the donors and workers who are making the foundation what it is today, I say, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Thomas:

We have all come from different walks of life and geographical differentiation, but we are all the branches of the same vine. One cannot depend solely on his or resources to achieve life ambitions. The poor ask from fellows to make life meaningful. On the other side of the sphere, the rich also depends on others for help no matter how wealthy he or she is.

I sorted out to have a university education in life and by the grace of GOD, I have acquired it. My family is poor; but that did not discourage me, because I knew my redeemer lives.

I heard about a prominent, charity, an international and education-supporting organization which will help me complete my education and help me beyond. This I proudly applied to the WELLS MOUNTAIN FOUNDATION (WMF). I am so grateful to this important organization which is making an impart in my university education.

I always give credit to this great foundation for their wonderful help they are giving to us students. My success is that, I have been able to increase in my academic average or grades. There has been improvement in my grades.

The hardship I have overcome is that of financial crisis which nearly drove me out of school in the first year. Although the grant does not cover all my expenses, but it is said that “half a loaf is better than none”

The Wells Mountain Foundation is very challenging as it helps one to acquire many life experiences. Last semester’s vacation, I taught some students from the Senior High School. As a matter of fact and so far humans are concerned, it is easy to remember what you have been talking to someone else.

It is in a way helping me to develop my personal aptitude abilities. so far as I can stand in front of about thirty students and confidently teach them is a plus. Through the provision that we should undertake a voluntary service, I have prepared a fifteen (15) document which I wish to be sponsored to carry out this initiative. It has helped me to know how to write programs. I have also written fifteen (15) pages of a story which I am looking forward to publish.

At the right time, I will forward all these writings to you.

Thank you.

Daniel:

WMF has indeed brought a positive impact on my life and that of my family.WMF scholarship mean everything to me because it has helped reduce my financial burden.WMF scholarship has made it possible for me to pay my fees,buy my books and pay for all other academic expenses.It has indeed helped me to cope with life on campus.Back in the high school, I could not pay for my fees, buy books and so was usually driven away from school thereby missing class periods. WMF scholarship has helped me to overcome all this challenges here in the university.

WMF scholarship has enabled me help my two younger siblings who are also in school.Indeed WMF scholarship has helped me overcome all these hardships. Aside being able to pay for fees, it has also made life on campus bearable for me. I have enjoyed so many successes ever since i got this scholarship. Aside those mentioned above,I have improved on my academic performance this semester and hope to continue for the remaining semesters.

The WMF team has done an excellent job keeping and updating official biographies on each of our talented scholarship students. However, I wanted them to share, in their own words, the issues and thoughts that are most personal and important to them – their dreams. I started with questions like:

What do you want to happen to you, your family, and your country?

How has the WMF scholarship helped you get closer to achieving your dream?

This is what they told me:

Isaac:

I am still doing my practical work. If I am done, I will work for some time and then continue my education. My future plan is to set up a modern laboratory that will enable me help the patients efficiently. Having the modern laboratory i will also train people to work with me. I will also educate people on health issues. I will also create some fund for my village project like education, water,etc.

Vijay:

I‘ve been crying out for help about this for awhile now and the WMF have made it for me. Things that I don’t know, I now know. 

My dream is to make it big, finish hard, and help share with other people out there – the up and coming ones. I also really want the whole world to become great. Everyone should get what he or she needs. We also need freedom everywhere. 

If I can achieve my dreams, I must rush to share what I have learned to other people so that they can also share it with others. 

Akoeallah:

I must say a very big thanks to the Wells Foundation for their support as far as my career in education is concerned. In the future I intend to pursue a degree course at the University of Cape Coast and then charter and then become a chartered accountant by profession. The diploma course I’m pursuing is the foundation of my educational career. The Wells Foundation is really doing great work in our lives and we appreciate it so much and we will work hard at school. 

 

Victoria:

A story of my dream is very simple one. what l will like to become in the future is to be a custom officer(CEPS) after my tertiary education through the help and supports from the WNF which they are already giving me. In the actual  fact l don’t know how my life would have being without the support from the WNF as l young girl like my type. In all l say a big thanks to all the supporters  from the WNF and may the good Lord continue to bless and keep you all the day long..

I am actually from a  poor family but through the help and the support  being given to me by the WNF and God ,petty soon l will end up being a great person and take off my family from that state of poverty.

Since l will end up being a custom officer, l will protect my country and the citizens of my country particularly the poor and the needy by supporting them financially.

The actual change l Victoria would like to see in the world is the reduction of poverty in the world by the rich supporting the poor.

More to come soon..