Vermont Students to Africa, Inc.

Here in the Northeast Kingdom, we live in a region rich in natural beauty and unrealized geo-tourism potential, yet our area is poor, and our students have some of the lowest achievement levels in the state.   Many of the youth of the Northeast Kingdom are locked in a circle, where achievement of their potential will always be hindered by economic and social issues, low aspirations and a sense of limited possibilities.  Many have never ventured outside of NEK borders.

Using the drama of an African experience, Vermont Students to Africa, Inc., wants to find those kids who could make a difference and inspire them to break the cycle and lead the next generation of conservationists, natural resource managers, natural scientists, and geo-tourism entrepreneurs. For students who have an interest in science and the environment, we want to get them fired up, to aspire to college, to promote a deeper understanding of earth and its species, and to apply the science and economics of conservation and natural resources in other places to life in Vermont.

Working with North Country Union High School, we are developing a carefully planned program on the ground in South Africa where students will become inspired to play a part.  While students of the arts and languages are provided opportunities to travel to Europe, students interested in science and nature have fewer opportunities. For only a bit more expense than those usual NCUHS student trips, VSTA will put them in close contact with masses of South African wildlife, and they will meet with game wardens, wildlife biologists, and conservation project operators in South Africa.  Participants will suddenly see their environment, both locally and globally, in a different way.

Traveling to Africa in a small group, they will camp and work as a team, opening their eyes to a world only imagined. In two weeks of field study, they will experience a higher concentration of serious environmental and wildlife issues than they could in any other place.

Working with their teachers and outside advisors (Vermont Fish & Wildlife biologists, etc.), each student will develop a specific research project, and each project will have a relationship to wildlife and environmental concerns in Vermont. Upon completion of their trip, students will provide public presentations before civic groups and schools, helping others know what they have learned and how it applies in Vermont. We would expect, for example, that students would bring back pictures and project reports and work with their peers at NCUHS, elementary students in their home towns or middle-school students in Derby.

By the time they are done, these students will already be playing roles of leadership in educating others. Upon successful completion of their commitments, they will receive academic credit from North Country Union High School for the entire experience.

Help us with your donation. Help change the lives and opportunities of these kids in the Northeast Kingdom.

Thank you.