Armed with business plan proposals, micro-finance loan applications, eight laptops, soccer equipment, and thousands of educational care packages, more than a dozen College of Charleston students will leave for a 10-day service trip to Cameroon, Africa. The trip is part of the School of Business’ global outreach project, Kick it Forward, and the students will travel nearly 8,000 miles to deliver $36,000 worth of educational supplies. The students will leave from the Beatty Center (5 Liberty St.) at 1:00 on Friday, March 1, 2013.
The students will be documenting every milestone and memory on their blog page: kickitforwardcameroon.blogspot.com.
Part of their mission in Cameroon is to educate elementary school children and adults about the importance of hygiene and sanitation in an effort to prevent water born diseases such as cholera. Apart from this initiative, the students are using their business experience to help the community. They have already solicited business plans from medical universities and will judge a competition that will result in two winners who receive 500,000 CFAs each to start their businesses. The College of Charleston students are also explaining micro-loan funding to female entrepreneurs and will facilitate the application process and distribution of five micro-finance loans.
The students are expected to return to Charleston on March 10, 2013.
For more information about the non-for-profit partner, visit www.possibilitieswithoutborders.org.
