Help me stay in uni!

VERSION EN ESPAÑOL AQUI: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIbZpQC0nAM&t=4s&list=LLFpoL9bCu7sShPOQQCjQ0XA&index=1 

Hello! My name is Mateo Sebastian and I'm asking for your help.

I'm an Ecuadorian student currently studying a BSc in International Disaster Management and Humanitarian Response at the University of Manchester. This is my first year of university and I'm really excited to be studying this degree. Unfortunately, I've experienced several difficulties recently and am facing the possibility of having to leave the University.

Let me explain:

In 2014, the Ecuadorian government awarded me a full scholarship to leave Ecuador, come to the UK and study at a university here. I decided to come to study architecture and I did all the paperwork to come on September, 2015. In order to be able to study at university, however, I had to study a foundation course first. Unfortunately, at the end of the year I didn't get the grades I needed for architecture. In order to keep the scholarship and progress to university, I had to look for other options at the University of Manchester. Thankfully, I found the Disaster Management degree that I'm currently studying and I was very interested because, although it was not my first choice, I found that I had a lot to offer to the course. Both my parents have worked with NGOs for almost my entire life, and this has gotten me involved and interested in the humanitarian sector. When I applied to university, it was my experience with volunteering and the particular background that I had in this sector that helped me get accepted. I was very happy to come back to Manchester and start what I believed would be my three year course.


Before returning to the UK, I talked to my sponsor and they said that, although it would be difficult, it was still possible to continue with the scholarship, the course just had to meet certain requirements in order to qualify, one of them being the course be strongly related to "Health and Wellbeing". I submitted my application and very, very, quite extremely detailed documentation about all the modules I was taking. I was careful to make sure I chose optional modules that had to do with Health and Wellbeing, such as "Bodies in History", "A History of Epidemics", and "Body Health and Wellbeing". The director of my course even helped me formulate and then signed a ten page document explaining why the course and Health were so intertwined. This, shockingly and upsettingly, was to no avail. My sponsors, after several appeals and discussions, even with the coordinator of the entire scholarship agency, where my mother was moved to tears, decided that the course was too focused on the area of "Humanities and Social Sciences", and therefore, I wouldn't receive funding for the course. In their rejection letter, they said I had demonstrated an interest in social sciences, completely disregarding the documentation which I had submitted. They knew I was going to travel to the UK in September, they knew this was going to be extremely expensive for my family and they did not care. They waited until February to tell me that I should go back to Ecuador and that they would be ending their contract with me.

(A fragment of a letter from my sponsors rejecting my application, in which they wrongly state that I was mostly interested in social development, when in fact I was interested in the health aspects of the course.)

Now, I find myself in an awkward position where I want to continue my studies but can't, only because of the funding that I need for university. My family was not expecting a negative answer from my sponsor and we didn't have any money saved for this situation. I was worried every day about paying my fees and had to move out of my accommodation because of how expensive it was. Luckily my friends in Manchester and my girlfriend, who lives in London, have provided me unmeasurable assistance. I am making things work for now, but if I cannot continue to study in the UK, then it will all have been for nothing. Even if I go back to Ecuador, this can possibly mean paying some fees to the university.

Because of this situation, I have found that a way in which I could possibly get the funding that I need is through crowdfunding. The fees for each year of my degree are 15,500 pounds and I want to gather this money to cover the fees for this first year of university. This can give me time to gather more money for the next two years and continue studying. Everything that I may gather will only be used to cover my university fees. Having already lived in Manchester for almost two years, I can say with confidence that I can cover the living costs with the help of a part-time job and the support of my parents, provided I get the funds for the university fees. For this reason, I'm asking for help from anyone who has the ability to do so in whichever way they can, no matter how small the quantity might be. I haven't set the target to cover the fees for 3 years because I wanted to see how everything went with a smaller target first, but there is always the possibility of crowdfunding more than what I need. The money for the first year is necessary to finish my first year of university. Therefore, I need to gather it by the end of May/beginning of June.


After almost two years of studying, I am now halfway to achieving my goals and I don’t want to let this time and experience that I have lived go to waste. Although it was not my first choice, I love the degree that I am studying. It not only shows me a different perspective of the world that teaches me how I can provide meaningful help, but it is also something highly applicable in Ecuador. This is a disaster-prone area that recently experienced an earthquake that killed hundreds of people and left thousands injured and without a home. I believe that what I learn here can help a great deal with the recovery and the preparation for any future hazards that the country could face. There is no course like this in Ecuador and the knowledge that I could provide to my country is unprecedented.

(Me and my team after playing and winning on a game called "Downpour", where we were supossed to act as emergency responders and save Manchester from a never before seen -imaginary- flood)

Studying at the University of Manchester provides me with tools that I believe cannot be obtained in any other place and I want to use the opportunity that I have, living here, in order to try to finish what I have already started. If you think that this is something you would like to support please do help me in any way you can. All this would take is 100 pounds donated by 155 people, or 50 pounds donated by 360 people. No matter how small, everything helps. If for some reason you cannot donate, then please do share this with everyone you know, maybe someone else will have the possibility of helping me financially.

I am very grateful to you for taking the time to read this and hopefully helping out and I don’t expect you to just donate without anything in return. If you donate a certain amount you can ask me for a little artsy thank you gift, from singing to drawing, I can offer you a fun gift for being generous and supporting me through this.

(A drawing I made for my application to Architecture)

If you have any further questions and want to learn my story in further detail or know more about the thank you gifts, visit the link "funds4seb.blogspot.co.uk ". I will update the page with any new, relevant information. You can also ask me questions here: https://www.facebook.com/Funds4Seb/


Thank you again for reading and I hope you can help in any way!


Mateo Sebastian Parra Zumba