One More Year Scholarship Program

Seeing the reaction of a girl from an underprivileged family being told she will be supported through vocational or senior high school is priceless. The Captivating ONE MORE YEAR Scholarship Program aims to do just that – keep a girl in school for ONE MORE YEAR (and hopefully longer). We all know that for every additional year a child remains in school, they will exponentially increase their ability to live a better life: earn more money, be a better person, make better choices, etc.

Education past Grade 9 is expensive for a rural family in China. Total costs, including tuition, boarding, food, and travel, can easily amount to RMB 12,000 (USD 1,800) per school year. That’s a big call for a family. Still, many families decide to support their girls by taking on considerable debt that could take the rest of their lives to repay. We have full admiration for these families. However, for many girls, continuing school from Grade 10 through to graduation is a huge challenge.

Here’s the good news: The Chinese government is progressively implementing senior high-school solutions to address the schooling program for rural families. The scale of their solutions is amazing. They offer subsidies and free tuition to many qualifying poor families now. These subsidies significantly reduce the total cost and will have the desired impact for many. However, for the poorest in a rural community, even this subsidized gap is still out of reach. This is where Captivating International steps in.

How it Works

In partnership with the Shenzhen Charity Federation, we aim to support 500 qualifying girls (and some boys) for ONE MORE YEAR of senior high school. If they are successful and still meet scholarship eligibility requirements, we will continue our annual support until they graduate. This is how the program works:

• We will fund the majority of any schooling gap (any amount remaining after government subsidies) up to agreed levels.
• To qualify, a girl must apply through her school and have the support of her teachers, including their confirmation that she is among the poorest in her student group or community.
• Students will be selected based on past academic performance, their drive and commitment to finishing the study program, confirmation of their family situation, and past teacher recommendations.
• Girls will receive regular contact from our Captivating partner, including encouragement and some mentor support.
• Support will be on a year-by-year basis, subject to her continuing to work hard in the program (and continued support by a sponsor).

How to Help

You can sponsor a girl through her 3-year senior high school journey for just RMB 3,200 per year (USD 40) a month. As a sponsor, you will receive a story about your sponsored student, an annual progress report, and biannual updates on our overall work and impact in China (in August and February).

Need more details? Contact us here!

Donations for this program are tax-deductible in the USA and Hong Kong. However, this program is not tax-deductible for Australian and NZ donors.