New
Dear Friends and Supporters!
Although Christmas is still 3 ½ months away, our Coordinators need to start working on the Christmas gift programs. Due to significant increases in poverty, bringing joy to poor children at this special time of the year is becoming ever more important.
With great pleasure I would like to advise that the following 3 Christmas gift programs have been approved:
1. Myanmar – Chin State
1,331 children in Preschool, Kindergarten. Elementary School Grades 1-3, plus our 96 scholarship students will get a Christmas Gift package.
2. Myanmar - Christmas Parties organized in different locations
It is estimated that about 1,000 underprivileged and internally displaced children in several poor towns and villages in Myanmar will attend these parties, getting a decent meal and some small gifts.
3. Sri Lanka
Our fund supported a Christmas gift program in Sri Lanka from 2006 to 2012. This was moved to Myanmar in 2013, due to 2 reasons: the Coordinators in Sri Lanka had difficulties handling it and the tremendous need in Myanmar.
With the economic situation in Sri Lanka continuing to be very dire, many people cannot afford enough food for their children and themselves. This prompted the coordinator of our Main Scholarship Program in the country to ask whether we could help 150 children, whose parents will not be able to send them to preschool at the beginning of 2025, because they cannot afford the school uniform, stationary, etc. needed for the children to attend.
Apart from the fact that these children would lack the preschool education, they would also not get the warm meal which they will be getting in preschool.
This additional program was unanimously approved. Each child will get a gift package containing a school bag, school uniform, stationary, a bottle for water, etc.
One additional positive news about a Special Project:
Sri Lanka – Holy Angels Girls School of Hope (HAGS)
3 years ago, the Principal of HAGS approached us asking if our fund could finance a new building to house 5 primary school classrooms. This was beyond our financial possibilities.
Two months ago, the Principal advised that a Japanese Conglomerate agreed to construct this building. The work has started and is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.
What HAGS still needs are the necessary cupboards/whiteboards for each classroom and 2 TV’s to support their education efforts.
One of our trustees has agreed to pay personally for the cupboards/whiteboards for the classrooms; our fund will pay for the 2 TVs.
Why is this extra building so important for HAGS?
The available classrooms in the existing buildings erected after the Tsunami in Dec. 2004 became insufficient to cover the demand for the school to take in additional students. Once this building has been completed, the school will have the capacity to add more girls, especially in primary grades.
Without your strong support the scholarship programs, the Christmas programs and the occasional special project would not be possible. May we express our gratitude for your heart for the children. Getting a good education and a bit of joy at Christmas will make a big difference in their lives!
Thank You So Much!
Your Trustees of IFESCSF
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dear Friends and Supporters,
Please allow us to express our gratitude for your financial support during this year’s fund drive. Many of you have supported our programs for several years, which is greatly appreciated and means so much to the needy children in Sri Lanka and Myanmar and us. We also want to say a special “Thank you’ to our new donors and hope that they will share in our joy when our programs bring positive results and our students complete their education successfully.
1. Myanmar
The 2 scholarship programs for the 2024/25 school year have just been finalized.
In total 103 children (98 girls and 5 boys) will get a scholarship for the school year starting in Yangon in June and in Chin State in July 2024. Due to the ever-increasing poverty in the country 12 girls have been added to the Chin State scholarship program.
This is our 11th year providing scholarships in Myanmar, which started with 41 children in 2013/14.
Please join us in wishing all students success with their studies in the new school year. It is hoped that the fighting in Chin State will cease or be at a minimum, to allow all our scholarship recipients to comply with the required standards for continued scholarship support in the coming years, i.e. at least 50% mark on average in all tests throughout the year and 90% attendance.
For full details about the two programs in Myanmar please refer to the article “Scholarships Myanmar 2013/14 – 2024/25” in Section ‘Scholarships’.
2. Sri Lanka
So far, the school year in Sri Lanka is running smoothly, although the dire economic situation in the country makes life difficult for many people including our students, the teachers and the schools in general.
A total of 224 children (209 girls and 15 boys) are on our 3 programs in Sri Lanka.
Combined, in the second half of this year,
327 students (307 girls and 20 boys)
will receive scholarship support. Exciting is that to date 207 students (182 in Sri Lanka and 25 in Myanmar) have graduated from High School, completing their education.
All of this is only possible due to your donations and compassion for the children.
Thank you for helping us, so we can help them.
Your Trustees of IFESCSF
Last Updated on Friday, 13 Sep 2024 16:00