Ashinaga is a Japanese non-governmental organization (NGO) that provides support and education for orphaned students around the world. Our support is centered around providing financial and emotional support to children and young people who have lost one or both parent(s). We help to secure their access to higher education through loans and scholarships, encourage them to have ambitious dreams for their futures, and foster in them a sense of Ôpaying forwardÕ the support they have received to their community or others who are in need. Ashinaga has been providing this means of support in Japan for several decades, and over 100,000 students have benefited from our work. Our activities expanded internationally in 2001, with the establishment of a new branch in Uganda, focusing initially on the support of HIV/AIDS orphans. Since then, we have opened further offices in Senegal, the United States, the UK, and France to support our latest venture - the Ashinaga Africa Initiative. The Ashinaga Africa Initiative (AAI) is an academic leadership program that aims to provide an opportunity for higher education at the worldÕs leading institutions of higher education to orphaned students from 49 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The goal of the program is to nurture future leaders who will contribute to democratic realization, economic development and poverty eradication in their home countries post-graduation. Ashinaga hopes that education will empower these students to overcome their difficult backgrounds and bring positive change to their societies. One outstanding student from each Sub-Saharan African country will be selected to join the program every year. Ashinaga will provide these students with the training, opportunities and finances necessary to study at academic institutions around the world.