Get Prince E. Okereke to College
Donation protected
In 2008 my mother went to Nigeria on a mission trip to the village of Ututu Amokofia. While there, she met a young man by the name of Prince Edward Okereke. My mother described him as both kind and intelligent. Shortly after that trip Prince friended me on Facebook and we have been friends ever since.
Several years ago Prince told me of his desire to get a college education. He explained that it is difficult to get a job in Nigeria and that a foreign education is highly desirable to employers. Prince is not looking for a handout, he's looking for a hand-up. A chance to make something better for himself.
As it turns out, it's not as easy as it used to be to come to the "west," to get an education. Since 9/11 the Department of Homeland Security, and other organizations in other countries have started to require that college students have 100% of the funds necessary to pay for tuition, room, board, etc. before they can start school. For instance, our local community college is relatively inexpensive, but even they require an international students to have almost $22,000 in their bank account before they can attend. So the United States and many other countries aren't an option. Prince has tried the U.S. and he's tried Germany, but he couldn't get to either one. That's when he applied to Tallin University in Estonia, which is part of the European Union and is situated north of Poland just south of Finland and he was accepted. The only issue was that he could only raise a small portion of the money to go....so back to the beginning. That's where all of you come in.
If I can get 100 people to commit to getting five people to donate $20 or more I think we can get there. He is trying to start college in the fall of 2016, but needs to pay his tuition by March. I will provide the difference up to $1,500.
You may be asking, "What happens if we don't raise enough?" There is no time limit on the campaign, so we could keep it going for another year if need be, otherwise he could seek his education in Nigeria, but that's not nearly desirable.
I don't want people to worry about misuse of the funds, that is why everything flows through me and does not go directly to Prince and that is why I only want people to donate $20...less than the cost to go to the movies, and that could change his life.
In Prince's words:
"My name is Prince Edward Okereke, I am a native of Amakofia Ututu,
Arochukwu LGA, abia State, Nigeria. I was born at Cameroon, where my mom came from. I grew up in the arms of my grandmama, whom is late last year August 2014. Life in the village is a nightmare. Because my
family really have to struggle for survival especially my granny, to make sure we eat, cloth and get some Medical attention.
In other words, the majority of the villagers can't afford western education, due to poverty and lack. I stayed for so long at home before going to school because my family cant afford it. I was so lucky to met with Pastor George Lockhart, during his Missionary visit
in my village and he took great care of my educational needs by providing tuition, housing and other educational needs. Pastor George, is the president of Vision2Hear (vision2hear.com) and he lives in
Georgia USA.
It as always being a hard time for me to visit my mom faraway Cameroon, because me and my grandmama cant afford the trip to her home country. So it really take many years to set my eyes on my real Mom.
Nevertheless, I am so grateful to Mr. Shannon Flippin, who sponsored my trip to visit my mom in November 2011. Nice trip, but sad moment to experienced and see that my Mom lived in a slumb area. That is
absolutely the kind of life I face with hardship and poverty.
My dream and desire is to study abroad to be a better person in my generation, to care for my family and to those that experience same hardship, poverty and less-privilege. I hope my dreams are fulfil. In spite of the hard-times, I am so grateful to Pastor George
Lockhart, Shannon Flippin, Lynn Norris and Kay Lares, etal, for their contribution and prayers to ensure my dreams and future plans are achieved. God bless you all."
You may be worried that your donation won't go to good use, but here is the plan:
1. Create a budget
2. Create a revenue campaign
3. Prince reapplies to the university
4. Prince will apply for a Temporary Residence Permit for Estonia
**This can be done at the Belgian Embassy in Nigeria since Estonia does not have one there.
5. Provide proof of finances (gofundme campaign)
6. Apply for housing
7. Fly to Estonia
8. Begin school and get required health insurance
9. International students can work while there...so get a job.
Budget for the first year:
Tuition: $3,700
Housing: $2,100 ($175 a month)
Food: $2,400 ($200 a month)
Fees: $200
Health Ins. $1,200
Airfare: $1,200
Cothes: $300
________
$11,100
Budget for 2nd and 3rd Year
Tuition: $3,700
Housing: $2,100 ($175 a month)
Food: $2,400 ($200 a month)
_________
$8,200
What can Prince Earn? $2.59 Minumum wage or about $415 per month (about $5,000 per year). So he will continue to need help for years 2 and 3. If we can pay for his first year, he should be able to begin earning for his 2nd and third year during his first year. He will still need extra support, which I will help to provide.
Thanks and God Bless!
Several years ago Prince told me of his desire to get a college education. He explained that it is difficult to get a job in Nigeria and that a foreign education is highly desirable to employers. Prince is not looking for a handout, he's looking for a hand-up. A chance to make something better for himself.
As it turns out, it's not as easy as it used to be to come to the "west," to get an education. Since 9/11 the Department of Homeland Security, and other organizations in other countries have started to require that college students have 100% of the funds necessary to pay for tuition, room, board, etc. before they can start school. For instance, our local community college is relatively inexpensive, but even they require an international students to have almost $22,000 in their bank account before they can attend. So the United States and many other countries aren't an option. Prince has tried the U.S. and he's tried Germany, but he couldn't get to either one. That's when he applied to Tallin University in Estonia, which is part of the European Union and is situated north of Poland just south of Finland and he was accepted. The only issue was that he could only raise a small portion of the money to go....so back to the beginning. That's where all of you come in.
If I can get 100 people to commit to getting five people to donate $20 or more I think we can get there. He is trying to start college in the fall of 2016, but needs to pay his tuition by March. I will provide the difference up to $1,500.
You may be asking, "What happens if we don't raise enough?" There is no time limit on the campaign, so we could keep it going for another year if need be, otherwise he could seek his education in Nigeria, but that's not nearly desirable.
I don't want people to worry about misuse of the funds, that is why everything flows through me and does not go directly to Prince and that is why I only want people to donate $20...less than the cost to go to the movies, and that could change his life.
In Prince's words:
"My name is Prince Edward Okereke, I am a native of Amakofia Ututu,
Arochukwu LGA, abia State, Nigeria. I was born at Cameroon, where my mom came from. I grew up in the arms of my grandmama, whom is late last year August 2014. Life in the village is a nightmare. Because my
family really have to struggle for survival especially my granny, to make sure we eat, cloth and get some Medical attention.
In other words, the majority of the villagers can't afford western education, due to poverty and lack. I stayed for so long at home before going to school because my family cant afford it. I was so lucky to met with Pastor George Lockhart, during his Missionary visit
in my village and he took great care of my educational needs by providing tuition, housing and other educational needs. Pastor George, is the president of Vision2Hear (vision2hear.com) and he lives in
Georgia USA.
It as always being a hard time for me to visit my mom faraway Cameroon, because me and my grandmama cant afford the trip to her home country. So it really take many years to set my eyes on my real Mom.
Nevertheless, I am so grateful to Mr. Shannon Flippin, who sponsored my trip to visit my mom in November 2011. Nice trip, but sad moment to experienced and see that my Mom lived in a slumb area. That is
absolutely the kind of life I face with hardship and poverty.
My dream and desire is to study abroad to be a better person in my generation, to care for my family and to those that experience same hardship, poverty and less-privilege. I hope my dreams are fulfil. In spite of the hard-times, I am so grateful to Pastor George
Lockhart, Shannon Flippin, Lynn Norris and Kay Lares, etal, for their contribution and prayers to ensure my dreams and future plans are achieved. God bless you all."
You may be worried that your donation won't go to good use, but here is the plan:
1. Create a budget
2. Create a revenue campaign
3. Prince reapplies to the university
4. Prince will apply for a Temporary Residence Permit for Estonia
**This can be done at the Belgian Embassy in Nigeria since Estonia does not have one there.
5. Provide proof of finances (gofundme campaign)
6. Apply for housing
7. Fly to Estonia
8. Begin school and get required health insurance
9. International students can work while there...so get a job.
Budget for the first year:
Tuition: $3,700
Housing: $2,100 ($175 a month)
Food: $2,400 ($200 a month)
Fees: $200
Health Ins. $1,200
Airfare: $1,200
Cothes: $300
________
$11,100
Budget for 2nd and 3rd Year
Tuition: $3,700
Housing: $2,100 ($175 a month)
Food: $2,400 ($200 a month)
_________
$8,200
What can Prince Earn? $2.59 Minumum wage or about $415 per month (about $5,000 per year). So he will continue to need help for years 2 and 3. If we can pay for his first year, he should be able to begin earning for his 2nd and third year during his first year. He will still need extra support, which I will help to provide.
Thanks and God Bless!
Organizer
Shannon Flippin
Organizer
Essexville, MI