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“My desire is to work in the public health sector to care for the sick so no one would have to suffer what I experienced in my parents’ deaths.” – Tsala, GAIA Nursing Scholar

2017 may be only a few days old, but GAIA donors have already brought hope to twenty nursing students and their families. With your help, we were able to inaugurate these new Nursing Scholars into the program, which will see them through all the way to graduation. The new Scholars bring the total number of GAIA Nursing Scholars in school to 143, including 8 Scholars in Liberia, and the total number of nurses supported all time to 501. The students will receive tuition, a living stipend, and clinical supplies for the next 4 years as they complete their nursing education, and they will then be deployed to work in government health centers and clinics across Malawi. Scholarships are awarded according to financial need, and sixty-five percent of selected Scholars are orphans. Without GAIA’s help, these young people would have no path to completing their education.

Mary, 18, is one of the new GAIA Scholars and dreams of becoming a nurse. Mary’s father died and her mother sells tomatoes in the market to support Mary and her 4 younger siblings. Mary’s uncle paid her school fees through secondary school but told her that as a girl it was her duty to get married rather than pursue further education. Mary was accepted to Kamuzu College of Nursing in Lilongwe, but was refused a government loan and had no means of paying her tuition. With GAIA’s help, Mary is now on the path to fulfilling her dream. She is determined to finish her studies, become a nurse and help to support her younger siblings and widowed mother.

We thank you for supporting the Nursing Scholarship program, and hope you will continue to give this year to make this important work possible. By investing in a nurse, you are creating brighter futures for more girls like Mary, her family and community.

Todd Schafer
GAIA President & CEO

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