The launch of a program titled “A Brighter Path: Scholarships for Ethnic Minority Girls” was announced March 29 by the Vu A Dinh scholarship fund and VinaCapital Group, a non-governmental organization investing in Vietnamese youth through the development of humanitarian projects in health and education.
The program will provide seven-year scholarships for girls from various ethnic minority communities throughout Vietnam. A donation of US$13,500 to fund the first year of scholarships for 50 girls was provided by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (CanCham), and will be matched in full by the VinaCapital Group.
A Brighter Path is designed to provide 100 girls from poor minority families with scholarships to attend high school and university. To be eligible for the program, students must be members of one of Vietnam’s ethnic minority groups, demonstrate high academic excellence, and come from families living at or below the national poverty rate of $13 per capita per month.
Once accepted into the program, each student will receive a seven-year scholarship (three years of high school and four years of university), which includes financial support for books, food, housing, and uniforms.
In addition, VinaCapital and Vu A Dinh will convene the girls once a year for a “Dream Meeting,” which will give them a chance to reflect on their progress and plan future goals. The girls will also be matched with mentors from Vu A Dinh, who will support the girls if they need academic or personal guidance.
The program’s pilot year will support 50 15-year-olds from various communities across Vietnam, after which the number of recipients will be increased to 100.
Mr. Don Lam, CEO of VinaCapital Group and Chairman of the VinaCapital Foundation, and Mr. Vu Quang Vinh, director of Vu A Dinh, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) March 29 at the VinaCapital Foundation office in Ho Chi Minh City.
The signing was attended by Madame Truong My Hoa, former vice-president of Vietnam and the current chairwoman of Vu A Dinh; and Mr. Patrick Wolfe, executive director of CanCham.
