The small town in South Africa, Kliptown, is home to 44,000 people. It lacks things many in the United States take for granted such as schools, health clinics, electricity and proper sanitation. A group of Executive MBA (EMBA) students from the Eli Broad College of Business chose Kliptown as their global residency destination and took action when they saw the misfortunes of the community.
Kliptown Youth Program students lack the basic classroom resources many might take for granted. Broad MBA students stepped in the make a difference.
“So often as Americans when we visit places and have our heartstrings tugged, we rarely act. These students acted and put their money where their mouths were and showed that Spartan will help when called upon,” said Jeremy Davis, EMBA Associate Director.
After visiting Kliptown Youth Program several students felt moved and compelled to do something and support the organization. Within a few days, the EMBA students raised enough money via GoFundMe to sponsor three Kliptown students for the school year. The sponsorship covers all the costs for these students to attend school including uniforms, materials and meals.
EMBA student Kevin Smith comments on the creativity when looking for a way to make a difference, “we considered several avenues of how best we could help the kids in Kliptown. We looked at computers, software, volunteering time, etc. One parallel we drew was that we knew, first hand, the impact education could have on one’s trajectory.”
Smith goes on to say how their role as students affected their decision, “we thought, if we extended that opportunity (education) to even just two or three students, it is our hope that it will help provide the foundation for a better future,” he said.
