BRIGHT MINDS AFRICA
BRIGHT MINDS
Bright Minds Africa has its origins in 2015 when a Cameroonian woman named Yvette knocked on the door of a Peace Corps Volunteer in her community and asked if the volunteer ran a nonprofit for women. "No," Gina said, "but we can start one."
Yvette and Gina have been working together ever since. They founded Bright Minds in 2018 to support some of the most vulnerable children in Nasarawa State, a region just outside of Abuja plagued by terrorism, regional violence, and economic depression.
Education
Bright Minds locates children who are not in school, provides them with
scholarships, and supports their education through home visits and one-on-one
mentorship. We also offer job training scholarships for older children
who prefer to learn a job skill. To date, we have 55 scholarship recipients
and counting!
Library Development
Because the schools in Nasarawa State are vastly underfunded, most students
go through their entire education without holding a book or learning how
to read. Bright Minds is changing this by partnering with local educators
to construct school libraries and train teachers to run them using activities
to promote literacy. We have just completed our second library project.
Health
All our scholarship recipients receive health and nutrition counseling
from Bright Minds' incredible Nigerian staff and volunteer team, who
also create safe spaces within the community where teenage girls can
learn reproductive health, something that is not taught in school. For
students affected by HIV/AIDS who are struggling to receive consistent
treatment and nourishment, we offer a sponsorship program in which we
match sponsors with individual children.
Girls' Empowerment
Bright Minds' focus remains on girls, as girls are expected to marry
at an early age and therefore their education is often undervalued by
society. We empower young women to chart a path through high school
and on to university.
All of our work is initiated and implemented by local West Africans, thereby stimulating the local economy. We work in a region other organizations don't go, reaching some of Nigeria's most vulnerable children. With the generous support of our donors like you, we are giving kids the boost they need to succeed in school and become the next generation of African and world leaders.
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$32 enrolls a student in school for the first time. This is a one-time enrollment fee for primary school. After that, annual fees are nominal. $84 provides lifesaving food for a malnourished child for one month. This is our new emergency intervention scholarship. $266 supports our health classes, girls club, and mentorship programs for one month. $3,500 builds a library in a school
with no access to books or educational materials and trains
librarians to keep it running. If you are interested in sponsoring
an individual child, please contact Gina directly at gmdettmer@gmail.com. |
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One of the early scholarship recipients
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Bright Minds Africa Website: |
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Donations in the US are tax deductible when made payable to "Philanthropic Ventures Foundation" - PVF is a qualified 5012(c)(3) charity. Canceled checks made payable to PVF are receipt of a qualified donation. Donations over $250 will also receive letter of confirmation from PVF. Donations made over the internet will receive a confirming receipt/email from Network for Good. |
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