Members of the Unitarian Universalists of the Cumberland Valley and friends began raising funds in 2005 to enable 24 girls who were active in village HIV/AIDS prevention PEDRA clubs to attend secondary school. We are proud that 12 of those girls became elementary teachers near their villages.

Our contributions have sustained continued growth of this important social justice project through the past sixteen years. In 2024 we are supporting 105 total girls by providing money for school uniforms, school and hygiene supplies, food, and a place to sleep at the schools, which are too far from the girls’ homes to make a daily commute possible. We also support Bursary graduates who have gone on to professional programs in teacher education, health care, and agriculture.

In Mozambique Mr. Titos Macie, a Mozambique native, oversees the project and provides frequent and detailed information on the project budget, future planning, parental support activities, and student achievement.  Ms. Sonia Sauale, a graduate of the program herself, operates the project day-to-day and is a strong role model for the girls in the program.

UUCV member Priscilla Laws (1940 – 2023) founded Bursary. After an extensive visit in Mozambique guided by family of the UUCV Bechtels, sustainable development goals suggested the need for bursary in the very rural interior area of Zambezia province. 

CONSIDER …

• Rural families raise their own food, live in thatched roof houses, without running water or electricity and often have barely enough food to subsist.
• School fees, travel, and living expenses make secondary school attendance impossible for 90% of rural girls’ families, who live too far away to attend daily.
• Mozambique has one of the highest rates of adolescent pregnancy — early pregnancies preclude continued education.
• Girls who complete secondary school have a better chance of delaying marriage, bearing fewer children, assisting their families financially and becoming community leaders.
• Mozambique is one of the world’s poorest countries – it is #181 out of 189 in the 2020 UN Human Development Index.

…THIS PROJECT CHANGES LIVES

HOW TO GIVE

Please support the Mozambique Bursary Project by making a tax-deductible contribution.  All amounts help — $350 funds one girl for one year.  Mail your check payable to UUCV Mozambique Bursary to UUCV, P.O. Box 207, Boiling Springs, PA 17007.

OR Access the QR Code and Note “Mozambique Bursary” in your Donation Comments

Questions or comments about the Project? Contact any Committee member:

Martha Bergsten [email protected]

Dianne Dusman [email protected]

Deb Genet [email protected]

Brian McPherson [email protected]

Susan Rimby [email protected]