Cara Delevingne pays toward student nurse’s degree after viral video

Nearly £40,000 has been raised to pay for a woman’s nursing training after a plea video was posted online.

Naana Aisha Issaka, a support worker from Nottingham, made a fundraising page in August 2020 after her applications for financial support were declined.

She also posted a plea video on Instagram which went viral last week after being shared by ‘imjustbait’, an Instagram page with millions of followers.

Ms Isaaka has now received over 2,600 contributions, reaching past its target amount of £38,750.

Cara Delevingne was one of the donators. The 22-year-old model and actress donated £2,000 which will contribute towards travel, accommodation, and tuition during Naana Issaka’s three-year course at De Montfort University in Leicester.

The celebrity wrote on the fundraising page, “You are a gift on this planet and I hope your dreams come true. Thank you for everything you do and will come to do in the future”. 

 

It’s not just me in this situation, there are so many students who are also wanting to do a healthcare-related degree, which obviously this country is screaming that they need, but are unable to do because of their circumstances

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   – Naana Issaka

In response, Ms Isaaka told the BBC, “I was just so shocked. She also posted it so I’m so grateful and thankful.”

“The public has just basically changed my life”, she added.

Naana Issaka is originally from Ghana but has resided in the UK since she was 10. When she turned 18, her father’s visa no longer supported her, which led Issaka to be detained before being granted leave to remain by the Home Office.

Her visa status made it so her applications for funding from both Student Finance England and a private student loans company were unsuccessful.

Her attempt at receiving a university scholarship was also unsuccessful.

Naana Issaka said: “It’s not just me in this situation, there are so many students who are also wanting to do a healthcare-related degree, which obviously this country is screaming that they need, but are unable to do because of their circumstances.”