Aid to Africa: Providing a World of Good from Miles Away

By Tonia Bui, Current Sherman Hall Resident
Cooperatively Yours - A newsletter for alumni, students, parents and friends of UC Berkeley co-ops
http://www.usca.org/home/news.php

Eva Markiewicz (Stebbins, ‘05-‘06) and Katy Harrison
(Stebbins, ‘05-‘06) returned from Mzuzu, Malawi, Africa, with a passion and a mission: to better the facilities of the Beehive School for Mzuzu children ages 4 through 11. After teaching science to Beehive students, Eva and Katy realized how limited resources were for the students. Using their backgrounds in science and technology, they created a website with the goal of global outreach for sponsorship and donations to the Beehive School.

Eva and Katy are currently working from abroad as directors of the technical and financial branches of the Beehive School. By spearheading fundraising efforts, they have helped the director and teachers to focus primarily on students’ curriculum and make sure students are excelling in their academic careers. Their project became one of the initiatives of A Self-Help Assistance Program (ASAP Africa), a non-profit that focuses on development work throughout Africa. Eva and Katy are able to accept donations for the Beehive School through the ASAP website. They hope to raise $290,000 to turn the Beehive School into a community facility that will accommodate 300 students. Once the expansion is complete, students will have access to a large library, a music room, an information technology suite, a swimming pool, sports facilities, well furnished classrooms, and programs for students with mental disabilities and community outreach. The new center will have a community focus: classrooms will be used to teach adult classes in the evening, provide extra-curricular activities for students after school, and serve as a gathering center.

During her free time, Katy works at Dreamworks in Redwood City and has recently contributed to Shrek III, the Christmas special Shrek the Halls, and is now working on Madagascar II. She hopes to spend more time traveling the world and return to graduate school.

Eva is currently attending the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in the Technology Development group. Her job is to play with robots all day. No matter how much fun that may be, she would like to return to the Bay Area and concentrate her work on green/renewable energy or water technology issues.

For more information on the Beehive School, or to contribute, visit www.beehiveschool.com.