She’s an undergraduate student who dreams of becoming a nurse, and with help from Zomia lenders her dream will come true.

About the Film

“Not Just a Student” was filmed in Chiang Mai and Pong Yaeng, Thailand, in October 2016. The film features Zomia students Mwe Leng, the main character, and Sai Noom, the male student depicted near the end. Other participants include Shengsar, Jonathan, Ying (and her family), Steven, Maybel, and Mway. Music is from “Eyes Wide Open,” by Tony Anderson.
Zomia owes a huge debt of gratitude to our friends in Washington, DC, who put a great deal of time and energy into making the film:

How You Can Get Involved

Lenders are the reason our students are in school. Taking these three actions will help us expand our community and reach more students:
  • Share this video. (Look for the handy sharing buttons floating on the edge of this page!)
  • Follow Zomia on Facebook and Instagram.
  • Help a student attend school. For as little as $25, you can support a student today.
How it Works

What is Zomia SPC?

Zomia SPC is a social purpose corporation launched in 2014 to increase access to higher education among students from marginalized communities. We do so by providing students from marginalized communities affordable education loans that are funded by philanthropic individuals and institutions from around the world.

What is peer-to-peer lending?

Peer-to-peer lending (often abbreviated “P2P”) occurs when one or more individuals lend money to another without the involvement of a traditional financial institution such as a bank. Zomia employs a peer-to-peer lending model tailored for higher education, in which individuals can contribute a small loan towards financing a student’s education. Learn about P2P lending on Wikipedia.

How can I support a Zomia student?

Supporting students is done with a credit card or PayPal account. To get started, either create an account or find a student to support via our Student Roster. If you choose this latter option then you’ll create your account at checkout. Creating an account is necessary to receive repayments and updates from students.

Where does Zomia work?

Currently, Southeast Asia. Zomia was launched to address the unusual disparity of opportunity that exists in the region, particularly among the Myanmar immigrant population in Thailand. While high-quality universities exist in Southeast Asia, the lack of traditional financing available to students from marginalized communities makes them prohibitively expensive.

Do my loans go directly to students?

It depends. If a loan is marked “pre-funded,” the student has already received funding from Zomia and lender funding is replacing Zomia funding. This allows Zomia to identify and support other students for future funding. Backfilling is critical to the Zomia model, giving students confidence they will be funded for a full term even before funding is secured on the website.

Loans marked “partially pre-funded” have not been pre-funded or disbursed in full. Zomia must secure additional lender contributions to meet the total funding need. In either case, loan funding provided by lenders can only be used to support student loans, and lenders are linked to the students they support for loan repayment. Lenders can search for pre-funded and partially pre-funded loans from Zomia’s student roster.

Do I receive interest on the loans I fund?

No. Although students repay you after they graduate, the act of lending to a Zomia student is still philanthropic in nature, especially if you adjust for inflation over time. Forfeiting profit enables students to borrow with peace of mind at an affordable rate. Neither Zomia nor our lenders profit from a student’s financial need.

Are my loan contributions tax-deductible?

No. Although the act of funding a Zomia loan is philanthropic in nature, it is not tax-deductible because you receive repayments after a student finishes school. If you are willing to forego future student repayments and would prefer a tax benefit, you may donate to Zomia via our fiscal sponsor, Partners Asia.

Will I get repaid? If so, when?

We strive to ensure that every lender is repaid in full, but we cannot guarantee anyone full repayment. Student loans are inherently risky, so you should never lend more than you can afford to lose. You can view our repayment stats on Zomia’s homepage “Lending Snapshot.”