Lewiston-Auburn Rotary supports women’s program in Zambia

Lewiston-Auburn Rotary Club Treasurer Tom MacDonald presents a check to club member Joanne Bollinger, board chair of WISE Zambia. Submitted photo

Lewiston-Auburn Rotary Club Treasurer Tom MacDonald recently presented a check to club member Joanne Bollinger, board chair of WISE Zambia (Women’s Initiatives that Strengthen and Empower).

WISE supports empowerment and economic independence for vulnerable children and women in Zambia through educational, economic, and agricultural initiatives. The nonprofit was born in Maine in 2004 as an outgrowth of a Habitat for Humanity project, according to a news release from the rotary club.

The $4,500 donated by the L-A Rotary Club and Rotary District 7790 will provide three young women graduates from the WISE high school program the opportunity to pursue higher education in any field they choose, whether business, nursing, teaching, trades and beyond.

Mukela Mukelabai, WISE’s education coordinator said, “In Zambia, girls have traditionally been expected to stay at home and become ‘marriage material,’ they’ve been taught that challenging subjects are for boys, and they’re lacking in role models.”

WISE challenges those assumptions by offering scholarships to girls and supporting them through their educational careers.

Bollinger made her first trip in 2013 to WISE Zambia’s headquarters in Kaoma. She visits almost every year and has taken several small teams and individuals from the U.S. to Kaoma and environs. Her work in support of WISE Zambia takes her around the U.S., as she raises visibility, funds and friends for the cause.

“The growth of our flagship program in education under the guidance of local leadership in Kaoma has been nothing short of phenomenal. From supporting 28 high school students in 2014, we now have 630 students in more than 25 schools and over 90 in colleges and other forms of tertiary education throughout Zambia,” said Bollinger.

More information can be found at wisezambia.org.