Education for future African elites

The aim was to provide scholarships to seven promising students from disadvantaged backgrounds at the Waterford Kamhlaba School (WKS). The funding was intended to enable them to follow the two year curriculum leading to the International Baccalaureate, which gives them access to overseas universities.

Four girls and three boys from Ethiopia, Lesotho, Tanzania, Swaziland and Zimbabwe attended the two-year course leading to the International Baccalaureate and successfully passed the diploma. In early June 2012, they passed the Scholastic Aptitude Test, allowing them to apply to universities in the United States at the end of the year. Although very busy academically, the school helped them develop strong values, such as integrity, honesty, initiative and responsibility. The students thrived academically, socially and athletically, participating in all activities taking place within the school.

The Waterford Kamhlaba School was founded in the 60’s by a young British teacher who, after teaching under the apartheid regime in South Africa, decided to open a multicultural school in Swaziland. This was the second “United World College” (UWC) in the world. Today, 13 UWC colleges are scattered throughout the world, with only one in Africa.