| Indiana Wesleyan University and WHI partner for Zambia
Indiana Wesleyan University is going to Zambia. Starting in the fall of 2008, IWU will launch a study abroad program using World Hope International - Zambia (WHI-Z) as its home base. IWU students and faculty will use the facilities of WHI-Z to live, work, and study. “People on this campus care about semester abroad in Zambia,” said Dr. Karen Hoffman, Assistant Dean of Academic Administration for the College of Arts and Science. “All the way from the Board of Trustees [to the students].” IWU hopes to take ten students in the fall and expects class size to increase in the future.
 Several
members of IWU faculty and staff have connections and interest
in Zambia, and the school’s long relationship with
WHI led them to WHI founder Dr. Jo Anne Lyon as they searched
for prospective locations for a new study abroad program.
An exploratory trip to Zambia was taken by Dr. Lyon, Dr.
David Smith, chair of the IWU Division of Religion and Philosophy,
and other members of the IWU faculty to assess possibilities
for partnership. IWU saw Zambia as a good location for the
new program due to the available diversity of study and
the possibility of providing a cross-cultural opportunity
that any student can participate in, regardless of major.
Of the semester in Zambia, Hoffman said, “My goal
is to change students, to make a difference in who they
are, so that they will make a difference in the people of
Zambia.”
Additionally, students in two IWU nursing classes this fall
presented Dr. Lyon with a check to help WHI’s efforts
to fight HIV/AIDS in Zambia. The gift came from the class’s
annual “Matthew 25 Project.” Dr. Lyon emphasized
the importance of what the students accomplished, which
goes beyond raising money to awareness of the issue, “I
believe God has called us in this day to deal with the greatest
pandemic to the world: the rise of HIV/AIDS. This is a door
for God to show his healing power.” The classes raised
over $1,600 through bake sales, door-to-door campaigning
and even a makeshift nail salon in one student’s dorm
room.
Learn
more about WHI and our work in Zambia
For more information about Indiana Wesleyan University,
visit the
IWU website |
|
