Private Organizations Must Support Botswana’s Youth

When Esfandiar Ghodrati and his wife Farideh left Canada to build a new life in Botswana, they brought with them a strong desire to serve their new country and create a legacy of giving back. Their vessel of choice was education. 

Botswana faces a crisis in education, with poor final examinations results and limited resources and facilities in government schools. With such concerns, many students slip through the cracks and fail to meet the requirements for government sponsorship at tertiary level. There are many factors that affect a student’s ability to meet the requirement for government sponsorship. Students might perform well overall, but face challenges in their daily lives that have a huge impact on their future. 

It is these students, among others, that the Ghodrati Foundation Scholarship aims to assist. Launched at the start of 2018 in partnership with New Era College, the Ghodrati Foundation Scholarship targets students who need funding to pursue their education. Derrick Phole, an Electrical Engineering student and beneficiary of the Scholarship, highlights the importance of the initiative, and says it has been a tremendous help to his family.

“The Ghodrati Foundation Scholarship is important to help kids who are struggling,” he says. “We’re not all the same financially.”

 Beneficiaries of the Scholarship don’t only have the chance to further their education and build their skills, but also benefit from New Era College’s strong relationships with industry. This allows them to tap into opportunities to network, participate in fulfilling attachments and internships and develop their careers while they study.

“The Foundation is a stepping stone for youth to have access to opportunities they would otherwise not have,” says Mrs. Ghodrati.

While government’s drive to ensure education for all has been a resounding success over the years, the burden cannot rest solely on the shoulders of the government or civil society organizations. The government has therefore called on the private sector to play an active role in education. The Ghodrati family saw the gap and stepped in to fill it. Private foundations have greater freedom than public foundations to ensure that their objectives are carried out in the long term. 

While the journey is not without its pitfalls, Mr. and Mrs. Ghodrati feel that it is all worthwhile. 

“Seeing youth gain access to higher education and having the opportunity to pursue their passions and develop careers is always rewarding,” says Mr. Ghodrati.

Are you looking for a way to help The Ghodrati Foundation? Contact us to find out how you can get involved