When we lived in Tanzania, we employed a Malawian house helper. Due to exploitation in Tanzania, she later returned to Malawi, where she survives from subsistence farming and our financial support, in the form of monthly Western Union remittances.

In addition to supporting Agnes, over the past 15 years, we have sponsored her two sons' education, paying for school fees and supplies for primary school and secondary school, which both completed successfully.

After secondary school, her eldest son, Karimu, gained entry into Muzuzu University. With our financial backing, he was able to earn an associate's degree in Information Technology, conferred in August 2023. When her second son was awarded a scholarship to into a BA program for business, we simply couldn't afford to support his living expenses. I reached out on Facebook and Melissa S, a colleague from Tanzania, stepped up and is sponsoring him.

Now I am reaching out again. Karimu has been accepted into the BA degree program for IT at Muzuzu. These additional 4 semesters have an approximate cost of $1000 for tuition and $1000 for room and board for both years. Completing his degree would open opportunities for him in one of the poorest countries in Africa. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking 174 out of 189 countries on the Human Development Index. It is almost at the bottom.

We continue to support Agnes. Because we are repatriating to the US next July, we no longer have the financial resources to sponsor Karimu, as well. On behalf of Karimu, I am humbly reaching out for collective support.

If just 20 people bestow $100 to his education fund, Stephen and I can cover incidentals like school supplies and unexpected expenses. Can you spare $100? If not, even $50 or $10 will make a difference in reaching this goal. If you are blessed enough to be able to contribute more, this would be amazing, too. If you are not in a position to participate, your prayers for this fundraiser and Karimu are sincerely appreciated.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Also, I can verify our sponsorship through Western Union records, if desired.

I sincerely thank you for taking the time to read this and for participating in any way that you can.

Kitty (Kareen) Smith-Fogliano