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January 30th, 2012
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January Monthly Newsletter
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8th Annual Auction for Education
By Kendall Peeler
 Everyone is abuzz with anticipation for S4Si’s 8th annual Auction for Education. One of S4Si’s biggest and most successful events of the year, this year’s auction will be held on Sunday, February 26th, in the FedEx Global Center from 4-7 p.m. The items for this year’s auction, which are all internationally themed, include coffee, mugs, scarves, blankets, shirts, jewelry, china, and much more! A guest speaker from Project Wezesha, an initiative supported by Girls Education International, an organization with a mission similar to that of S4Si, will be speaking about the importance of education in young women’s lives. Vimala’s Curryblossom Café will be catering the event. The auction will feature the Tanzanian tea that S4Si sells in the Pit on Thursdays. The UNC group Campfires and Constellations will also perform at the event. Be sure to mark your calendars and invite your friends! Come out to bid on the items, taste the food, hear the music, and most importantly, to support S4Si and the education of our scholars!
Scholar of the Month: Hadia Rasid
By Farah Ladak
Hadia is a Class of 2014 S4Si scholar. She strives to become an independent and skilled woman within her community and hopes to become an engineer. She believes that girls are hesitant to go into the engineering field because there are few women in the profession, and she wants to step outside of these gender roles. She also has an interest in art and enjoys drawing, as well as designing her own clothes. In the future, Hadia would like to open an art school to increase jobs for the poor. She also enjoys spending time with her ten siblings.
Tanzanian Tea Sales Expand
By Christina Nasuti
In an exciting fundraising update, S4Si’s tea sales are expanding! In addition to weekly sales in the Pit on campus, S4Si is partnering with local coffee shops and restaurants to sell Tanzanian tea. S4Si members supply filled tea bags that are then sold at various Chapel Hill locations including: the Daily Grind, Carolina Coffee Shop, Jack Sprat and Vimala's Curryblossom Cafe. Vimala’s is also catering the upcoming auction on Sunday, February 26th. Sales at Jack Sprat, Carolina Coffee Shop and Vimala’s started on Tuesday, January 17th and sales at the Daily Grind began on Monday, January 23rd. The proceeds S4Si obtains from the tea sales range from 15% to 100% of the profit. If you are in the Chapel Hill area, please stop by one of these locations to support S4Si and our community partners as we raise funds for young women in Zanzibar!
S4Si would like to thank all of the following sponsors for their cooperation in selling our Tanzanian Tea!
Member of the Month: Hillary Stroud
By Nguyen Huynh An Le
The member of the month is Hillary Stroud. Hillary is a first year Global Studies major who has been a member the Events Committee of S4Si since the beginning of the fall semester. She has been very involved since she joined S4Si. She has helped with restaurant benefit nights and tea sales in the Pit. Additionally, she is currently working with the Auction Committee on finding a speaker for the event in February. Recently, Hillary was selected to join the Executive Board as a Co-Director of Outreach. She hopes to see more growth for S4Si under her influence, through more, long-lasting connections with other organizations on campus and in the community, as well as through increased member recruitment. She has already begun planning to participate in some events with other organizations, such as the UNC Muslim Student Association’s Sportsfest. Congratulations Hillary, and thank you for your hard work!
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An Interview with the Summer 2012 Tanzania Delegation
By Caroline Leland
The four S4Si delegates who will travel to Zanzibar this summer are thrilled to finally meet the scholars who are directly impacted by S4Si’s work here at UNC. April Pullium, Bailey Jones, Liz Willis, and Seth Muller will spend five to six weeks in Zanzibar selecting next year’s class of scholars. The scholarship recipients are chosen through a rigorous selection process that starts when Zanzibari schools nominate their top female students. The delegation, aided by a translator, interviews those 30-50 students who apply for the scholarship. Ten finalists are selected. The delegation then visits the homes of the finalists, meets their families, and determines their financial need. Eight scholars will ultimately be selected based on personal character, academic aptitude, and financial need. Liz Willis, Co-Director of Scholarships, said she is looking forward to finally being able to meet and get to know the scholars she has been learning about and raising money for since her first year at Carolina. “It will bring my work to life,” she said. “I believe in what we do.” Seth Muller, Co-Director of Events, said he is excited about the opportunity to manage the sustainability of the program. One of the delegation’s goals is to ensure that the scholarship money is being used efficiently to the direct benefit of the scholars. The delegation discusses with the scholars and their mentors how to best fulfill the scholars’ needs. “We want to maximize their power of education,” Seth explained. Finance Director Bailey Jones plans to focus on streamlining how the money is handled through Forum for African Women Educationalists, the NGO that manages and distributes S4Si’s funds. In addition to selecting new scholars, the delegation will be making sure the scholars are receiving enough money and receiving it easily. April Pullium, Co-Director of Communications, said she is looking forward to learning what life is like in Zanzibar. Gaining a greater understanding of Tanzanian culture will help the delegates, and in turn all S4Si members back at UNC, know how to better serve the scholars. “I’m mostly excited about the enrichment experience,” April said. “I know I’ll never really understand the culture of Zanzibar until I go and immerse myself in it. To learn about the obstacles the scholars face of living in a developing country and figure out what S4Si can do to help them better. “ Most of all, the delegates are excited to play such a direct role in harnessing the untapped power of the girls in Zanzibar by providing them with the opportunity for further education. Katie Cullen, who was a delegate last summer, said undoubtedly the most rewarding part of the trip was being able to hand the students their acceptance letters and say, ‘Here’s a chance for you to be able to continue school.’ “It’ll be difficult because all the girls we see and meet will be high-achieving girls with financial need and we’ll have to turn away deserving girls,” Liz said. For the lucky scholars who are chosen, the impact will be huge—which means the delegates have a huge responsibility. “I have the potential to change someone’s life drastically,” Liz said. And that impact inevitably extends to the people around the scholars. “These girls are going to change their communities,” Seth said. “And that’s why we’re there.”
Happy Birthday, Zanzibar!
By Hayley Fahey
Although Zanzibaris remember the official day as January 12th, celebrations for the country’s revolution and emancipation from Arab rule began more than a week early. With military parades, choirs, traditional dance, and artistic displays dedicated to the occasion, the 48th anniversary of the country’s birth gives Zanzibaris much reason to celebrate. The story of the nation’s becoming is not a simple one. In 1963, a year before the revolution celebrated this month, Zanzibar first gained independence from Britain. The parliamentary elections that followed, however, brought an Arab minority to power, despite the majority win by predominantly African Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP). With surrounding nations such as Tanganyika, Uganda, and Kenya earning their independence in the early sixties, the idea grew amongst Zanzibar’s discontented population to stage a takeover of its own. In 1964, insurgents then swept the Prime Minister, Sheik Mohammed Shamte Hamadi, and his cabinet from power. Three months later, the emancipated nation joined with the former Tanganyika to become the United Republic of Tanzania.
S4Si Scholar Receives United Nations Club Certificate
By Bhumi Dalia
 Rahima Mussa Hassan was recently awarded a UN Club Certificate for her speech on global warming. This certificate is awarded to a student in recognition of active participation as a Member of the UN Club. In an effort to better understand the functions of the United Nations, the UN Club at Rahima’s school organized an event to gather and discuss pressing global issues. The participants represented members from seven countries: Kenya, Tanzania, Canada, Uganda, Oman, and United States. Rahima presented her speech in the UN Club at Lumumba Hall on December 17, 2011 as a United States spokesperson. In her speech, Rahima tried to present the perspectives of Americans in order to propose a solution to the issue of global warming. She states that her research allowed her to understand how the “Americans and the US government have been trying to reduce the use of the sources of global warming such as petroleum and coal over the years.” Rahima’s speech was extremely inspiring. She was congratulated by all, especially the guest of honor, Friederike Paul, a member of the United Nations Population Fund Tanzania, who shook hands with Rahima and said, “Well done, Ms. Hillary Clinton.”
A Look at Other Educational Initiatives in Tanzania
By Lina Carballo
S4Si’s efforts to support female scholars in Tanzania are part of a growing trend of organizations recognizing the need for women’s education in the developing world. Nurturing Minds, another non-profit organization with a similar mission, created a remarkable new program three years ago. Although S4Si chooses to support our scholars’ education through public secondary schools in Zanzibar, other organizations have constructed schools specifically for young women. For example, In January, twenty-six girls living in Mkundi, Tanzania, will have the opportunity to resume their studies at the Secondary Education for Girls Advancement (SEGA) School. These students, who are between 14 and 16 years old, aim to complete their secondary education at the SEGA boarding school. At SEGA, girls who are orphans, come from abusive households, or cannot afford education find a safe environment. Although numerous girls apply every year, small classes are selected so that the girls receive individualized attention, postpone having children, lead healthy lifestyles, and acquire job skills. The School continues to expand through the construction of new buildings. Read the PBS news article about SEGA online: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/world/jan-june12/sega_01-17.html
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Mail: Students for Students International 52 FPG Student Union UNC CH Campus Box 5210 Chapel Hill, NC 27599 Email: info@s4siunc.org Website: www.s4siunc.org |
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