Send Sidi Back To School!

Hi, I'm Phil, and I'm fundraising for my friend, Sidi.

Exec Summ: Sidi gave up her college career to save a week-old baby girl who was literally left on her doorstep - unwanted and abandoned. Sidi legally adopted Dawn and raised her as her own. Now that Dawn is in school full-time, Sidi wants to go back to school to study law. The most realistic way to do a full law degree is to become a paralegal first. $8,000 USD will make that happen.

Full Story: In 2015, upon returning to Botswana from a scholarship year at a university in China, 23-year-old Sidi unexpectedly became a mother to a newborn baby girl. The sick baby was literally dropped at Sidi's feet. No relative of the baby was willing to help her and Sidi was persecuted by her family for refusing to let the baby die.

Sidi, who was not prepared to support another life at the time, sold any valuable personal belongings to provide for the basic needs of the baby. Sidi took the baby to the clinic almost every day for infusions and other life-saving treatments.

This meant Sidi gave up her focus on herself. I know Sidi from my time teaching in Botswana. She is smart and a talented writer and got multiple scholarships. She had - and still has - a very bright future. But Sidi put her own dreams on pause to be Dawn's mother for the past 8 years. As soon as Sidi turned 25 (the minimum age for adoption in Botswana), she legally adopted Dawn.

In the months and years that followed, Sidi focused on Dawn's development but of course also had to put food on the table. Given Sidi's special circumstances of single motherhood plus family persecution, a couple times, my family and I have given them some injections of funds (and books and clothes).

As a multi-linguist, Sidi freelances with the Botswana High Court as an interpreter of Mandarin, Sekgalagadi, and other languages. The work is infrequent, but she makes each paycheck go a long way. It pays fairly well but the work is infrequent. The High Court cannot hire her permanently because she does not have a degree.

Sidi tries other types of work. She has served lunch to workers at a table outdoors. She has worked odd jobs. She has even grown morula jam and tried to sell it.

Unlike other single mothers in Botswana, Sidi no longer has a family network to rely on. Sidi and Dawn currently live in Sidi's late grandfather's house in Lobatse, Botswana. There is contention regarding their occupancy and there have been threats to kick them out. This is incredibly disruptive, particularly for Dawn.

Sidi wants to live on her own with Dawn, in peace. And Sidi wants more than anything to go back to school and restart down the path to advancement and career. The online course to become a paralegal takes about a year; this would provide her a salary that would more than pay for the family's needs. Once settled in her job, she will then be able to go back to school for the five years it would take to graduate in law.

$8,000 will pay for tuition, rent, a laptop and printer and other necessities for remote schooling, food, medical expenses, etc. for the entire year while Sidi is in school. Please join me in supporting Sidi and Dawn and setting them on a path to progress. Sidi put the life of a sick baby before her own dreams. Now let's help Sidi pick up where she left off.

Thank you for your consideration.

-Phil