By Meg Porfido, GEF Board Chair
Each year International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8. On this day, people from around the world come together to celebrate the political, social, economic and educational achievements of women. Today, Global Education Fund celebrates an inspiring young woman and former GEF-Kenya scholar, Anisa Salat.
Anisa completed GEF-Kenya’s four year secondary school scholarship and Young Leaders program as one of its first graduates. As a Somali refugee living in Kenya with her extended family, Anisa excelled in school and tests and thrived in the GEF-Kenya leadership program. Through her hard work and the help of GEF-Kenya staff, after graduation she participated in a program that places students in U.S. colleges. She was accepted to Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania with a four year, full ride scholarship. Anisa is the first one in her family to go to college and her first plane flight alone was the one that took her to the U.S. for school.
Anisa has excelled at Bryn Mawr and has recently informed us that she has been admitted to graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania in their Department of City and Regional Planning for the Fall 2015 Semester.
Anisa graduates from Bryn Mawr in 2016 and will participate in this program at Penn as a sub-matriculation. She will begin the master’s in her fourth year at Bryn Mawr while completing her undergrad and then add a fifth year to complete her master’s. According to Anisa, the program is as a result of a partnership between Bryn Mawr and Penn, and “is a great opportunity for saving time and money, and planning knowledge and skills are very useful in many fields.” She will do a concentration in community and economic development.
Anisa’s journey is extraordinary and she is an exceptional young woman. GEF is thrilled for her and not surprised by her success. Then again, it is hard to overstate how challenging and remarkable her path has been, considering where she started out in life.
Anisa could not be more thankful and grateful for her education and the path it is helping her set for herself. She also would be the first to tell you that organizations like GEF and others supporting her along the way have made it possible for her to achieve her dream — of using her education to help her community and make the world a better place for all of us.
Please join us in celebrating this exceptional young woman and all the women working to make a difference in their lives, their communities and the world.
