Helping hand reaches across borders

Kimberley Kilgour in front of the Foreign Exchange when she wired Rose* money for her degree. Photo / Supplied

A Tauranga woman studying at Waikato University is helping another woman 15,000km away in one of the world's poorest countries.

"I know I don't have the ability to change the fate of all women and girls in South Sudan, but I knew by using my voice I could help this one young woman," said Kimberley Kilgour who met Rose* from South Sudan at the recent 59th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York.

The two girls, both 23, roomed together when Ms Kilgour learnt of Rose's story.

"As I got to know Rose that week and heard more of her life story and the tribulation her people face, my heart began to break. Rose has lived a life with more suffering and hardship than most of us could even imagine. Born into the South Sudanese Civil War, Rose and her six siblings have never known anything other than displacement and poverty. Her father was killed in the conflict, making it difficult for Rose's family to eat, let alone pay for the children's education.

"What struck me the most about Rose however was that despite the dire situation she and her family face, she fearlessly refuses to give up on her dreams. She is the most inspiring person I have ever met."

Rose had gone to New York, sponsored by UN Women, having been accepted into university to undertake a Bachelor of Social Work Degree. She was due to start the week she returned to South Sudan but had no way of paying her tuition fees, Ms Kilgour said.

"While she was there in New York with me, she was receiving messages from a man back home, many years her senior, promising tuition money in exchange for producing him children. Rose knew the true cost of such an offer and was determined not to forfeit her freedom.

At the conference to advocate for the advancement of women and girls, Ms Kilgour realised the opportunity to make a difference was right in front of her.

Ms Kilgour raised US$600 by voicing Rose's need to the other delegates of the World YWCA. Rose was able to start study when she returned home that next week, she said.

She then set up a Givealittle page which had raised enough money for another semester and a half of Rose's tuition.

To pay for her entire degree Ms Kilgour needed to raise another $3800.

Rose hoped to use the skills gained in her degree to help the people in her community find their feet as they came out of a conflict spanning 20 plus years, she said.

Since meeting Rose, Ms Kilgour had been inspired to educate herself more as to what went on in different parts of the world.

"I think people in New Zealand, especially young people, are at risk of being in our own little worlds, that we forget the potential we have to impact the lives of others in places such as South Sudan.

"Once I have raised enough for Rose's education, I hope to start a fund so that more young women from South Sudan can have the freedom to study too."

*Rose's name has been changed to help protect her identity.

Making a difference

* Kimberley Kilgour is currently in her final semester of study, undertaking a Bachelor of Law and a Bachelor of Social Sciences, specialising in International Relations and Security at Waikato University. She was recently named as one of Hamilton's 30 under 30 for the contribution she makes to the community.

* She is a board member at the YWCA of Hamilton and represented the YWCA of Aotearoa New Zealand at the 59th session on the Commission of the Status of Women. Since returning from the UN, Kimberley has been working towards establishing an organisation that champions young people to take steps towards their dreams.

* To help support Ms Kilgour support Rose please head to her donation page: www.givealittle.co.nz/cause/educationforrose/