September 2024 Newsletter
Dear Friends of U-Go:
If you could see the U-GO team now, we are literally jumping out of our seats with joy as we announce the largest cohort yet of new scholars.
As the new school year begins, an incredible 1,820 ambitious and promising young women are receiving news that will forever change their lives and those of their families - they're being awarded long-term scholarships that will be with them through the happy day they graduate from university.
This brings the total U-GO family up to 4,320 scholars. Imagine lining up 31 Airbus A320 planes and filling every single seat. Now that’s inspiring.
Watch our scholars "take off" and be energized by our continued progress in our H1 2024 report, linked below:
As encouraged as I am by our ability to scale rapidly in just 2.5 years, we know that behind every one of these scholarships is a young woman with a real story of overcoming adversity in order to make a better life for herself and her family. Please read on below for the story of one of our very first U-GO scholars, To Thao Vy, who is has now graduated and is pursuing her dreams working in clinical laboratory science.
I am so proud of our global team, and excited to track the progress of our newest group of U-GO scholars. Onward and upward!
John Wood
On Her Narrow Shoulders
Meet To Thao Vy. “Your success is the success of the family.” From an early age, Vy’s parents made it clear that as the oldest child, much was expected from her. The hopes of an entire family – aunts, uncles, grandparents, and more – rested with her.
Vy and her family lived in a dilapidated brick house in a rural village of Tra On in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. An iron corrugated roof on the home leaked constantly. Her family couldn’t afford to extend the power line to their house, so they relied on kerosene lamps for lighting. These were far from ideal conditions for studying. However, Vy was blessed with supportive parents who encouraged her and her younger brother to go to school and study hard so they could have a better life.
Vy’s parents had both completed secondary school but earned a living as hard-working farmers. In the early morning hours, Vy’s father would deliver noodles to the market and return home by breakfast to prepare for his day job of manual labor in the orange groves, catching only a few hours of sleep between jobs. Her mother’s job was equally demanding, working 12-hour days on the jackfruit farms. But they never wavered in their belief to educate their children.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the family’s financial struggles intensified. Farm jobs were greatly reduced and Vy’s parents were let go. Subsequently, Vy’s grandfather fell seriously ill requiring hospitalization and her parents' constant care. With mounting medical expenses, her parents had to borrow money. Vy felt powerless to provide financial support. It was hard for her to witness their sadness and strain. To ease her family’s burden, Vy helped with household chores, cared for her grandparents, and assisted her uncle with mental health issues. She also helped her younger brother with his studies. The pressure was immense. The weight of the family’s burdens and desires rested on her narrow shoulders.
““The pursuit of my dreams is not only for me but for my family who are eagerly awaiting my success.””
After secondary school, Vy was accepted to Tra Vinh University, majoring in clinical laboratory science. With a deep desire to assist doctors and patients in diagnosing their diseases, Vy was motivated to become a lab technician. At university, she juggled a heavy course load with part-time work. There were challenging times when she felt like she might not succeed; her goal of a stable job to support her family felt like a distant dream. During her second year of university, she received a scholarship from U-Go in partnership with The Relay Fund. This financial support helped to cover her tuition expenses, greatly easing her financial strain.
In February 2023, Vy graduated from Tra Vinh University. In the months that followed she completed a certificate program at Vinh Long General Hospital while working weekends at a private clinic specializing in testing. She is now working full time at the clinic post university. She is thrilled to be earning US$200 per month, which covers her personal expenses while still allowing her to send $50 - 70 per month home to help her family. This extra income is now supporting her parents and extended family and paying for her younger brother’s university education. As she continues to earn, she looks forward to finally fixing the leaky roof at her parent’s house.
Thank you to The Relay Fund who partnered with U-Go to capture the story of Vy. For more stories of resilient and promising scholars, visit U-Go’s Youtube page or click the links below.
