Success Stories

Every day generous individuals like you  give hope, encouragement, and comfort to students like Alhassan, Alusine, Kadiatu, and  Beyonce.

Allusine and Alhassan Sall

In June 2016, when Shawn Zanders, Founder and Executive Director of Champion Within Foundation heard the story of 20 year old twin brothers forced to stay home an entire year without going to school, he immediately asked how he could help. Alusine and Alhassan Sall are third and fourth of 11 children in a polygamy family. Their mother has six boys and their step-mother has two boys and three girls. The twins were set to wait their turn to continue their education because their father, a local trader could not afford to send all of his 11 children to school at the same time. With the generous donation of Shawn Zanders and the Champion Within Foundation, the twins were awarded the Lift a Village Academic Scholarship and are back in school and on their way to pursue their dreams of becoming Doctors. Thank you Shawn Zanders for transforming the lives of the Sall brothers.

Beyonce kabia

In April 2016, Mavis Miller said she wanted to help send a little girl to school for an entire year and with her donation, Beyonce Kabia, a 3rd grader had the opportunity to explore through education for another year. In 2017, Beyonce was sponsored by Brandy Rucker and was given another opportunity to continue her education  and a shot at a better life. The 3rd grader will soon be moved from her deprived community in Lal-Banka Village to the capital city of Freetown where she will be taken cared of by one of Lift a Village's host families. 

KADIATU KARGBO

Meet Kadiatu Kamara, a strong and intelligent young lady from one of West Africa's most impoverished communities, Kroo Bay, Sierra Leone. Our team met this brave young lady in May of 2016 and had the opportunity to hear her story. Kadiatu Kargbo is 17 year old with big dreams, but those dreams were shattered after losing her father to Ebola in 2014. As a result of her father’s death, Kadiatu was not able to attend school for 2 years because her mother couldn't afford to pay her school fees. The family survived on selling "banana cakes" and mangos in Kroo Bay and Kadiatu had lost sight of her dream of becoming an Accountant. Thankfully, with support from  generous donors like you, Kadiatu was awarded a Lift a Village 2016-2017 Academic Scholarship and is now back in school and breaking down walls in her community.