Finding a sponsor for a student from Ghana?

Question

I have an e-mail pen pal from Ghana who is in need of sponsorship for his studies. I want to help him but don't even know where to start. I understand that many people would be afraid this is some sort of scam, as I was at first. However, this friend has told me he is willing to send any proof he needs to (passport papers, letters from his University, etc.) to prove he is who he says he is. He understands the difficulty of all this and knows that it may be impossible for me to find someone to help him. Any ideas on how to go about this? I don't even know where to start.

Answer 1

Ghanaians have a well earned reputation for honesty, especially amongst other African nations. This reputation is often exploited by the less scrupulous who often pose as Ghanaians. Most scams that appear to originate from Ghana are the work of Nigerians, Ivorians and Zimbabweans.

Ghanaians value their education and this is the government's top priority. They spend more as a percentage of the national budget on education than most, if not all, other countries.

Your pen-pal is almost certainly genuine.

As to the question of sponsorship... this is a difficult area. A lot of Ghanaian students are sponsored by individuals as opposed to corporations.

In the developed nations companies often support a student and on completion of studying the student is employed by the company - both sides benefit from the arrangement. However, the Ghanaian economy is very different, there are few large companies and those that do exist are primarily American and European, there is little financial benefit for them to sponsor a student.

There is no system as such for providing stipends or bursaries within Ghana and any assistance you provide may have to come from you as an individual or from someone you find who is willing to assist. All I can suggest is that you speak to friends, colleagues and local businesses and see if they are able to assist. If you know of any Ghanaians in your country then speak to them.