Parentless and vulnerable children face significant disadvantages that become even greater when considering their academic prospects. Without family funding to rely upon, students without parental care are easily deterred from pursuing higher education due to its upfront costs for supplies, uniforms, tuition, and travel. This means that children who have grown up in financial hardship have little opportunity to break out of that cycle, regardless of their potential.
This is especially detrimental in developing countries, where the completion of a college or university degree can increase earning potential by 100% or more. The Barzilai Foundation is launching a program with SOS Children’s Villages India to remedy this situation and give these students full access to life-changing education.
SOS Children’s Villages India (SOS India) is an organisation dedicated to the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child: the rights to survival, development, protection, and participation. For over 60 years, SOS India has been providing care, education, support, and integrated care solutions to children across India without parental care or at risk of losing it. Through their work, SOS India places at-risk children into communities that enable them to live as normal a life as possible, leading to long-term stability that would have otherwise been lost.
In partnership with SOS India, the Barzilai Foundation has created a bursary fund that will allow students who have completed their secondary education to pursue degree programs or vocational training. This further education will provide an opportunity for them to break out of the cycle of poverty that faces most parentless children in developing countries.
“In India, most students don’t make it through their secondary education,” said Brandon Sosa, CEO of the Barzilai Foundation. “The success rate is even more dire when you look at students who are in low-income areas or without parents. The students who will be eligible for this bursary have already surpassed most of their peers and have beaten the odds to get here. This bursary is an investment in them continuing to build a better future.”
The bursary will cover those costs that would otherwise be barriers – tuition fees, books, uniforms, rent, tutoring, and career counseling – and will provide support for the duration of the degree programs. For the 2024-2025 academic year, a very strong applicant pool led to the selection of 52 recipients. All recipients are enrolled in degree programs or vocational courses that are directly tied to job prospects in high-demand fields.
“Each of these students is making their way from a very challenging upbringing to a bright future,” said Brandon Sosa, CEO of the Barzilai Foundation. “That kind determination absolutely should be fostered, and we are proud to be teaming up with SOS India to make it happen.”
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