This serves as an invitation to you to become a founding member of the SAWISE Hope Scholarship (download the Hope Scholarship information leaflet).

THE IDEA

We would like to found an Honours/4th year level scholarship for a young woman, preferably in the sciences and/or related field (medical included). Preference will be given to a candidate experiencing financial difficulty or distress. We are looking for an ambitious, conscientious young lady with the determination to go after what she wants; a young woman with the potential to make a contribution to her field and of course, to society in general. We would like to call on our network of young professional women to become the founding group of this scholarship, i.e., to donate whatever they feel comfortable with towards this scholarship.

WHAT THE FOUNDING GROUP WILL OFFER

• We are hoping to raise R10 000 per year. This won't cover a whole year of tuition but it will most certainly help. If we raise more - great!
• Mentorship. As working women, and even as students, solid mentors are difficult to come by. We would like the founders of this scholarship to be willing to form a network of mentors for this young lady. The extent to which you get involved as a mentor is up to you.We think it would be a good idea for the young lady to have one or two special mentors - her main points of contact. Other mentors could perhaps play more of an auxiliary role. Possible mentorship ideas include a mentor's breakfast with the young woman every two months (it would be the responsibility of the special mentor to ensure that the young lady networks/interacts with the other mentors), and offering to be available to the young lady via email, or skype (depending where in the world you are). We are open to any mentorship ideas that you might have.

THE ADMINISTRATION

The scholarship will be administerd by SAWISE. Inital screening of applications will be handled by SAWISE. The final selection will be made by a panel of Hope founding members.
It would be wonderful if we could keep a scholarship of this nature going. For this reason we are establishing a Hope fund - some money which could gain interest over the course of the year(s) and thereby fund future scholarships. A contribution could take the form of a once-off payment or a monthly/annual payment to the fund.

WHAT THE FOUNDING GROUP WOULD EXPECT IN RETURN

• A certain level of academic performance to be maintained by the recepient.
• Brief academic progress reports from the scholarship winner on a quarterly basis. We would like to be able to pick up problems sooner rather than later.
• Involvement in at least one society that would help improve the recepient's leadership skills, and consequently add postively to her CV.
• The young woman in question to participate in mentorship activities.
• We will strongly encourage the winner to be involved in the Hope Scholarship scheme (as well as the 'Hope network') upon completion of her studies.

DETAILS

Should you wish to become a founding member, we ask that you deposit your contribution in the following account:

The Hope Scholarship Fund
Standard Bank
Account Number: 073506036
Branch: Blue Route
Branch code: 02560920

The above account is a business account with two signatories, namely, Thyla van der Merwe, SAWISE Secretary and Hope Founding Member, and Janice Foster, Hope Founding Member. For purposes of transparencey and sound record keeping, we ask that you email proof of payment to the following account: thehopescholarship@gmail.com . We ask that payments be made by August 31st if possible. Applications will close on November 30th annually, and the recipient will be announced once final results are in.
Your contribution need not be hefty. Any little bit will help. We ask that you indicate to what extent you would like to be involved. If you feel that you could help out more in a non-financial capacity, i.e., the donation of your time and/or professional services, then please do let us know.
It is our hope that we can come together as women to start actively making a difference to the world in which we live.
We look forward to hearing from you.

The Hope Scholarship Team