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Sponsorship
After High School - the College Work Scholarship Program
A
former scavenger enrolls in her first engineering class. A one time
peanut vendor prepares for her CPA exams. We are reminded of an
old Chinese proverb: "Give a man a fish and he has food for
a day, teach a man to fish and he has food for a lifetime".
At LCP we are starting to see this proverb become a reality as we
seek to meet the immediate needs of the child today and prepare
the child to face the uncertainties of the future.
Minimum-wage
jobs in the Philippines are available only to those holding college
degrees. Examples are luggage porters who carry luggage at the airport,
bellhops at the local hotels, and cooks and servers at the local
fast food restaurants. Those who do not hold college degrees continue
to live on the margin of survival as they struggle to make a daily
living performing casual labor (i.e., pedicab drivers, house maids)
that have no regular hours and low pay (below minimum wage). Therefore,
a college education is extremely important in helping a youth and
their family to overcome the life of poverty and marginal existence.
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From
Sponsored Child to Empowered Youth -
LCP's Youth Empowerment Program
It
is the policy of LCW/LCP that each sponsored youth take one
year off between high school and college to work in the Youth
Empowerment Program at the LCP headquarters. The public school
system of the Philippines does not include a "middle
school" or junior high school. Students move directly
to high school after completing the sixth grade. Therefore,
the youth often lack the experience and maturity to wisely
choose careers, courses of study or appropriate jobs.
These
Youth Assistants are given responsibilities in one of LCP's
HELP programs or in the finance or administrative offices
where they work side-by-side with LCP's Administration. This
interim work experience allows the youth to gain valuable
experience and maturity in a "real world" setting
which better prepares them for choosing a career and a college.
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College
Work Scholarship Program
The
College Work Scholarship Program at LCP offers the youth who
are high school graduates, a hand-up that assists with tuition,
school supplies, projects, transportation and uniforms. In
exchange for the scholarship, the youth gives to LCP 10 hours
per month of "Service with a Purpose". They are
assigned to the different programs and offices at LCP and
perform tasks that assist the staff in the administration
of the programs. Scholars who excel in their courses of study
may be assigned to tutor the younger sponsored children who
are having difficulty with course work in elementary or high
school. The scholar is also required to attend the Youth Organization's
weekly Bible Ministry and the Door-to-Door Evangelism Team
as well as with Youth Choir and Praise & Worship Team.
The
cost of college and technical school education in the Philippines
is low in comparison to Western standards. However, youth
who are living on the margin of survival cannot afford to
pay for their education. Without help from sources outside
the family, their dreams and hopes of helping themselves and
their families out of poverty cannot be realized.
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How
you can help!
Current
Sponsors can be a positive force in the decision-making process
for their child in the following ways:
-
They
may encourage their child, while in high school, to maintain
high academic standards in order to be eligible for academic
scholarships.
- They may
encourage their youth to start planning for college or vocational
school while still in high school.
- They may
continue their sponsorship for the youth while he or she is working
in the Youth Empowerment Program.
- Sponsors
may continue their sponsorship while their youth attends college.
- Sponsors
may elect to provide the funds needed for their youth to attend
college.
There are many
college-bound youth that need new sponsors for the College Work
Sponsorship Program. You can help by providing the college tuition
for a youth scholar at LCP.
For more information
on the College Work Scholarship Program, contact
the Sponsorship Office.
Which schools
are available to the scholar?
Depending
on the interest of the student and the course of study chosen, a
variety of schools are available for the scholar.
What is the
cost of higher education?
The annual cost
for one student is between $350-$600. The variation in tuition is
the result of several factors. The scholar might choose a private
school for the quality of education received in their particular
field of interest. Transportation costs vary depending on the distance
the youth lives from the college or technical school. The costs
for certain courses is higher than others because of the extra "hands-on"
experiences and equipment required for a student to learn certain
skills. For example, nursing degrees are more expensive than other
degrees because the student is required to have medical equipment
for clinical experiences outside the classroom. The length of a
program will also determine the costs, i.e., 2-year degrees vs 4-year
degrees.
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A sample
budget for one semester at St Paul's College for a Nursing
degree:
Tuition
- $260
Projects - $12
Books - $20
Transportation - $60
School Supplies - $12
School Uniform - $20
Field Trip - $50
TOTAL = $434/semester
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A sample
budget for one semester at Central Visayas Polytechnic College
for a Air Conditioning/Refrigeration degree:
Tuition
- $60
Uniform - $8
PE Uniform - $16
School Bag - $10
School Project - $25
Transportation - $75
Copying Fees - $4
Special Fees - $30
TOTAL = $228/semester
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