In most African countries education is only free up to a certain age (normal only primary school); after that it is the responsibility of the family to cover the costs. It is often the case that the salary from one job goes towards helping support around ten extended family members, young and old – this includes paying for children to attend school. Some children are orphans, relying on relatives to care for them. As a result, many rural families can not afford for their children to complete their education – they do not get adequate qualifications – can not get a job – resulting in a limited future, and so the cycle continues.
Our scholarships aim to address this by paying for school and university fees, uniforms, books and other materials. We help children and young people who we feel are most deserving, but who otherwise might not be able to afford to continue their education. We try to visit the students regularly, receive reports on their performance and wellbeing from their mentors and teachers, and some of the students also write to us; increasingly keeping in touch via social media.
We continue to work closely with schools in the communities where Oli has worked. Many of our scholarship student come from Mwiko Primary School in Rwanda (near the Volcanoes National Park) and Chiwawatala and Katemo Basic Primary Schools in Mfuwe, Zambia (near the South Luangwa National Park); most recently we have started supporting students living near the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongorogo Conservation Area, Tanzania.
The Dreike Scholarship Fund has so far helped change the lives of more than 80 young people in Zambia, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania. Several of our students, whom we started sponsoring in primary school, have completed their university studies and many of our scholars are now employed. We are proud of their successes, but they may never have been a possibility without the generosity of our supporters.
Christine comes from a village near Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda; in 2010 DSF sponsored her to attend Kabale Nursing College and, after two and a half years of hard study, Christine graduated as a credit nurse – among the best in the country.
She started her nursing studies when she was 21 having worked at the Bwindi Community Hospital as a nursing assistant from 2007. Quickly identified as being enthusiastic and bright by the hospital management after working in the community health team she later assisting in the operating theatre. A nursing assistant doesn’t get paid much, and so Christine’s aim was to become a qualified nurse. Following completion of her degree and now a fully qualified nurse at Bwindi Community Hospital, Christine hopes to gain further qualifications and grow in her nursing career.
Hyacintha’s father sadly passed away in 2009 and she and her brother (Francoise) were raised by their grandparents in Sunzu village northern Rwanda.
DSF started sponsoring her and her brother in 2010 and after finishing at Mwiko Primary School she went on to Kinoni Secondary Day School; she loves dancing and was a member of the Volcanoes Safaris traditional ‘Intore’ dance troupe and the chairperson of the school’s dance group. After graduating from secondary school she worked at nearby Virunga Lodge for a number of years, before starting her own business to support her family.
Kizito was brought up by his mother in Sunzu village, overlooking the Virunuga Volcanoes in northern Rwanda; she struggled to allow him to attend classes as she needed him to help her at home.
He used to earn a small amount of money which helped support the family as a traditional ‘Intore dancer’ at Virunga Lodge, but was keen to return to school, and was able to do so with the help of DSF, who started sponsoring him at Mwiko Primary School in 2009. In 2017 he graduated from secondary school hoping to become a mechanic, but since graduation has been working as a technician for a Rwandan renewable energy company EAP.
Samson is from Katemo, a small village near the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia. DSF first started sponsoring him through primary school in 2009 and in 2012 he continued his studies at Mambwe Boarding Secondary School.
After finishing his schooling he started a Nursing degree in 2018 at Lusaka Apex Medical University, with assistance from DSF. He graduated in 2022 and is working as a nurse in Lusaka, with ambitions of becoming a nursing lecturer.
Elie is from Sunzu Village, where he was brought up by his mother in a small house on a hill overlooking the Rwanda’s Virunga Volcanoes and Lake Ruhondo.
In 2009 DSF started sponsoring Elie through primary school and later partnered with another educational charity to support him through secondary school – a clever chap, he won a part scholarship to one of the top secondary schools in the country.
After completing school, Elie was accepted to the Africa Leadership University in Kigali in 2017 and with support from DSF he completed his BA in Global Challenges in 2021. An ambitious and intelligent young man, Elie has set up his own social enterprise and already worked for a number of international NGOs in Rwanda since graduating
Neymar Francois was raised by his grandparents in Sunzu Village, near the Virunga Volcanoes in northern Rwanda.
DSF started supporting him and his sister (Hyacintha) in 2010 and after completing his studies at Mwiko Primary School he went on to specialise in construction at Secondary School.
A keen traditional ‘Intore dancer’, since leaving school Francoise has been working as a soldier for the Rwandan Army Special Forces.
Grace’s teachers’ described her as “the perfect student… never naughty, always polite”; she was the first girl the headmaster thought of when considering students who most deserved sponsorship; and they were right to! DSF started sponsoring Grace in 2008, when she was at Chiwawatala Basic School in Mfuwe, Zambia (neighbouring the South Luangwa National Park).
Sadly her father had recently passed away and as her mum had never finished school, their family of five relied on subsistence farming and were unable to afford the fees to send Grace to school. DSF decided to cover her secondary school costs, and she came top of her class. With dreams of becoming a teacher, DSF continued to sponsor Grace at the Chipata College of Education and in 2020 she graduated with a Teaching Diploma Merit. After studying for three years, she is now a qualified teacher, and following a stint volunteering in her local primary school teaching Mathematics, Technology Studies and Expressive Arts she now works as a primary school teacher in a rural community not far from Mfuwe.
Joseph is a very bright young man from Burera village in the shadows of the Virunga Volcanoes, on the shores of Lake Burera in Rwanda.
Joseph’s leadership and community mindedness shone through when DSF first started sponsoring children in the area in 2009 and he volunteered to help them learning english and buy school supplies. So much so that, following a conversation with his old teachers at Mwiko Primary School, DSF decide to help sponsor him to attend the science-bases Nyarutovu Communal College.
Joseph was always keen to go to university to become a doctor, and following secondary school graduation, and an internship at Virunga Lodge to improve his English, he started his medical degree at Medical School in Rwanda in 2013, before completing his final years of study in DRC and graduating in 2021.
We continue to work closely with schools in the communities where Oli has worked; together with the help of trusted teachers and community mentors we select the children we feel are most deserving, top performers and those who will benefit most from scholarships. We try where possible to address specific needs. Once we have identified deserving individuals, we aim to secure sustainable funding to meet their educational costs to complete secondary school.
Sponsoring since 2009
At the Livingstone International University, Lusaka.
BSc in Wildlife Conservation and Natural Resources Management
Sponsoring since 2017
At Mfuwe Secondary School, Zambia / Grade 12
Sponsoring since 2020
At Mfuwe Secondary, Zambia / Grade 10
Sponsoring since 2021
At Mambwe High School, Zambia / Grade 9
Sponsoring ince 2019
At Mfuwe At Mambwe High School, Zambia / Grade 11
Sponsoring since 2022
At St Lukes School Edulen, Ngorongoro, Tanzania / Class 4
Sponsoring since 2022
At St Lukes School Edulen, Ngorongoro, Tanzania / Class 1
Sponsoring since 2022
Att St Thadeous Mtowambu, Tanzania / Class 5
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