Aggies for Global Education Amy Aldrich AFIL class of 2011

My Project Name: Aggies for Global Education (A.G.E.) Project Tunisia Mission Statement: “We support education, education supports the world” Purpose: Raise money to send to the Elementary School of Mnihla in a less-privileged community of Tunisia while simultaneously educating the local community about the conditions there

Background

Population: ~11,000,000 Official language: Arabic 98% Muslim, 1% Christian, 1% Jewish GDP per capita: $9,500- ranked 113 in the world 1 out of 4 Tunisians can not read or write Only 490 internet hosts in country- ranked 181 in world! Compare it to the US’s 439,000,000 Source: CIA World Factbook Online

Background What better time to invest in the future of this great country?

Recipient School The Elementary School of Mnihla was selected to receive the funds raised by A.G.E. They are currently struggling to purchase books, furniture, and other necessities

Recipient School The Elementary School of Mnihla

Recipient School The Elementary School of Mnihla

Fundraising Sent out over 30 letters for personal donations Visited 17 local businesses seeking donations Contacted a Tunisian student association (TUNASA) at the University of Houston Requested to visit Aggie Mom’s Club in hometown next week Purchased 100 t-shirts to sell for a profit

Fundraising

Budget Expenses $650 t-shirts $50 print/mail supplies Capital (expected) $1000 t-shirts $1000 donations Total raised (expected) $1,300

Marketing ed Arabic Club, Arab Students Association Will talk in all Arabic classes and some INTS classes Facebook and flyers Trying to sell shirts at Shiraz Shish Kabob some evenings

Goals and Delivery Minimum fundraising goal: $500 Hopeful fundraising goal: $1500 Dr. Salah Ayari (yes, our speaker last week and my Arabic professor!) is hand delivering the money to the Elementary School of Mnihla this summer He is planning to attend their June “graduation” ceremony

Challenges Loss of partner Time management Finding investors Bank account Hopefully NOT selling the shirts or receiving personal donations!

Sustainability I will be able to continue with A.G.E. next year as my Capstone project for my Arabic Studies minor. Ideally, I will focus on a different Arab country. Beyond that point though it will be dependent upon future AFIL or Arabic minor students to keep it alive… I would love to see it continue! One young lady, Rebeca Clary, has recently shown a lot of interest in the project and she is applying for the AFIL class next year and is pursuing an Arabic minor

Thank You شكرا Questions?