The education program offers financial support to young people who have completed 8th grade and who want to take higher education, but are stopped for financial reasons.
The young people are recruited from our other projects, and great demands are placed on the participants. They must all show that they are willing to work hard to change their own life situation. The education program is an offer for children from the other programs who want to continue their schooling after finishing primary school. Through the program, 43 young people receive support for education at upper secondary school / college / university level. The support is means-tested, and in return the young people must regularly report on their school situation. In the office premises of our subsidiary in Romania, there is also a separate room with a PC and a number of books where those who want to can do schoolwork and possibly get help in a quiet environment.
We work hard in the groups because the young people know that the only way out of poverty is through education. The participants see that more have succeeded, they support themselves and live an active and participatory life. The education fund is financed mainly through contributions from schools and private individuals.
Several of the young people in the program are HIV-positive, and for them it is special to experience that someone is willing to invest in their future. They make it clear that they have seldom experienced that those who know about their condition have asked them what they think about the future. It hurts.
The education program is funded by Metis upper secondary school in Bergen and Bergen private high school.
