Our Work

Our Work

What’s the point of educating a girl if she ends up getting married and becomes a housewife?

We hear this question all the time. The question assumes that the only value of education is to get a job outside of the home. At Arewa USA, we envision a world where education is accessible to everyone because we know the true value of education. Our answer to that question is: an educated housewife is still very valuable because she will help raise educated children; an educated housewife has the confidence to make healthy choices for herself, her husband, and their family; and an educated housewife knows she has options.
There are economic benefits to education – one can gain employment to become financially independent. At Arewa USA, we also recognize the social benefits to education; to live in peace with other people requires education; to worship freely and in harmony with those of different faiths requires education; to raise the next generation of children who value education requires educated parents.
In Nigeria, the gender gap in educational opportunities is largely driven by cultural, social and religions norms. Since the 1960s, efforts have been and are continuously being made to close the gender gap in education. Yet, Northern Nigeria lags behind the rest of the country in achieving gender equity in education. Beyond the devastating economic impact, the very social fabric of a society can be eroded when women, who are typically the caregivers, are not educated.
Our mission is to reverse these trends by promoting gender equity in education. Our strategy is to support high-performing female students who aspire to graduate from either the College of Nursing or the College of Education. We focus on these areas because they are the major sectors of employment opportunity for women in Northern Nigeria.
Whatever a woman chooses to do after her education is up to her. As an organization, we firmly stand behind our belief that an educated woman is a valuable woman, no conditions attached.

Our Methodology

We rely on a trusted team of local coordinators and a standard operating process to:
  1. identify and assess candidates for scholarships
  2. administer funds and provide an audit trail
  3. mentor and monitor each recipient from onboarding to graduation and beyond

 

Step 1: Identify and asses

Our local coordinators partner with schools to help identify girls who meet the following criteria:
 
  1. High-performing student
  2. Admitted to either the College of Education or the College of Nursing
  3. Financial hardship prevents her from starting or completing the degree
  4. Parents or legal guardian agree to allow her to attend and complete the college degree
For each candidate: our coordinator collects documents and interviews the candidate and her guardians to ensure they meet the above criteria. During the interviews, the coordinator also educates the candidate and her family about our organization, what we provide, and our expectations for continued support. Once the coordinator completes their due diligence, they submit the candidate’s application for our review and approval. Upon approval, we begin the process to administer funds.

 

Step 2:- Administer and audit

We administer funds “on-demand” meaning that our organization transfers funds only when there is a direct request from schools for payment. That request must be in writing and itemized to show how the money will be spent. Our local coordinator assigned to a specific scholar’s case verifies the request, after which we release the specific funds to the scholar who then makes the payment and follows-up with a receipt

 

Step 3: Monitor and mentor beyond graduation

At the end of each semester, the coordinator checks in with her assigned case to obtain school results and ensure the scholar is doing okay. If there are risks, the coordinate escalates to the school, parents, and to us so we can help correct them before they become issues.

 

About 6-months to 1-year before the scholar graduates, we work with the coordinator to help identify employment opportunities for the scholar. We use our relationships in the public and private sectors to help place the graduate in employment that aligns with her wishes and the wishes of her parents.

 

We are there from start to finish, not just to provide scholarships, but to give guidance and open doors.

Your Donation

A Scholarship in Your Name

A donation of any amount is welcome. All funds raised go toward covering education expenses.

Education expenses include: tuition, room and board, food, books, and transportation. We offer several donation options and regardless of how much you choose to donate, 100% of your donations go toward the girls’ education.
We are currently running a campaign through 2021. If you give a bronze, silver, or gold donation, we will name a scholarship after you.