Despite Uncertainties
Xiangdong's family is particularly poor in the village. He and his younger brother were raised by their loving grandparents. However, the future was uncertain for both of them.
Xiangdong's family is particularly poor in the village. He and his younger brother were raised by their loving grandparents. However, the future was uncertain for both of them.
Huaifeng's home is on a remote hillside, and it takes her more than an hour of walking before she can ride a bus to school. Her mother left them when she was only one year old, while her father is working as a security guard in another city. She lives with her brother and her grandparents. Any support she receives is a great help for her to finish her studies.
Despite her good grades, it was still unlikely for Lhamo to proceed to college. Her mother had difficulty sending her to school so she decided to stay at home and help out with the household chores.
"My dream is to become a doctor, and my mother will be my first patient." This is Tsering's story.
Puyuxia, 19, comes from a rural area. She lives with her grandfather who raised her by himself ever since she was a little girl. Puyuxia's father died in an accident while her mother left them in search of a better life.
In August this year, 95 girls joined Captivating's Vocational School Scholarship program, bringing the total of girls in this 3 year program to 277. All these girls were found by our on-the-ground partner [Shamtse] to be out of school. Getting these girls back into school where they can learn a skill that will provide them with independence and job opportunities is important to us at Captivating. It's girls like Zhang who bring special meaning to this program.
62 girls in our second cohort of Vocational School Scholarship Program graduates, completed their courses in July 2020. Most of these girls were only able to go to school up to grade 9, with many dropping out even earlier. The key reasons being financial difficulty, prejudice on the part of their parents not valuing education for girls, and varying family circumstances. Their dreams of a career and independence were gone. But thanks to the Vocational School Scholarship program, dreams are coming true again. Luma is one of our graduating girls and she shares her story.
Tashi entered the Vocational School Scholarship Program in 2018, and took up Preschool Education as her chosen vocational study. Her family used to borrow money so she could study but it all became too difficult financially so she had to drop school in 2017 after she finished grade 8. She shares her experiences and dreams with us.