Maureen Waithaka was awarded a $1,000 financial scholarship.Thanks to the Mary S. Nelums Foundation, I am standing in front of the registrar’s office about to pay my tuition. I am very grateful for the opportunity afforded to me by the Foundation.”
Being accepted into the Masters of Social Work degree program is a dream come true for me. I am very excited. I am finally going to be able to learn, acquire and gain the knowledge, skills, and capabilities that I need, through education and hands on experience.
My overall career goal is to become an adoption counselor. My career goals include working with pregnant mothers, a parent that feels that adoptive placement is the best decision for their children, a parent that relinquishes their parental rights voluntarily, young women and men who choose to make an adoption plan for their unborn children and; working with foster families that want to adopt an infant (s) as a way to build their family.
I grew up in Kenya where poverty has overtaken the capability to afford basic human needs for you or your family. It has resulted in the erosion of the middle class. Poverty became very real to me when I investigated and conducted an independent study on adolescent AIDS orphans in Kenya in May 2007 that was generated by the question – ‘Who is caring for AIDS orphans in Kenya?’ I worked as a researcher through the Jackson State University International Experiential Learning Exchange Linkages Program. I published my work on www.adoptavillageinafrica.com
The field of social work moves me to make a difference in people’s lives as I have always done all my life. I have previously been a volunteer rape crisis counselor for Catholic Charities; a researcher and advocate for ‘Who is caring for AIDS orphans in Kenya?’; tutor for students with disabilities where I provided assistive services such as note taking and recording for graduate and undergraduate students at Jackson State University as well as for people within the Hinds, Rankin and Madison County. I also am an HIV/AIDS and STD Instructor- presenting health educational materials through public speaking and media. I have a Masters in Public Health (MPH) and I am currently pursuing a Masters in Social Work (MSW) with the aim of combining both areas.
