Scholarship for young people in difficult financial circumstances who would like to enroll in a university

Organizers: Milostiv Charity

Period: June 1, 2017 - September 30, 2017

Media: Bulgarian National Radio - Horizont, Radio Sofia

Description:
This competition category aims to enable young people in difficult financial circumstances to take part in the ''Creating Good'' competition (en.milostiv.org/dobrotvorchestvo). The aim is to help young people who would like to enroll in a university, but do not have the financial means to do so. The participants are invited to submit a letter of motivation containing responses to the following questions:

Why do I want to get a university degree? What would I like to major in? What kind of profession would I like to enter upon graduation? How will higher education help me?

For young people who are already enrolled at a university the first two questions are as follows: Why did I decide to study at a university? Why did I select this particular major?

Eventhough over the last two years the number of children in foster care homes has declined by 22%, at the moment around 4 200 children in Bulgaria still live in such institutions. In addition there are thousands of poor young people and those growing up in socially challenging circumstances. We, the organizers, believe that all children have the right to a good education, which will give them a chance for a decent life and career. The main criterion should be their abilities and motivation to study and develop themselves, rather than their financial and social status. A proof of this point can be found in the example set by a multitude of noteworthy Bulgarians throughout our history. They realized their personal responsibility for their fellow men and society and were glad to help and contribute. One of these examples is Raiko Tsonchev, whose father died when he was a kid and he could not afford to even buy a textbook, yet subsequently he learned a trade, became well off and donated a large sum for the construction of a school and a church. In “Encyclopaedia of Charity” hundreds of cases are described of people who donated part of their own savings to assist the education of children in Bulgaria. Realising their personal responsibility for society, each of them has donated according to their means, from a scholarship for a student to huge sums to build schools and universities. The most significant act of this type is the construction of the University of Sofia made possible by the donation of brothers Evlogy and Christo Georgiev. In his will Evlogy Georgiev wrote: „Only my hope that I too can contribute to the wellbeing and greatness of my fatherland, helps me die in peace“.

Scholarship - 1200 levs

A ten-month scholarship of 100 levs per month and once-off 200 levs for buying textbooks will be donated in October 2017 to the first nominated participants who have been accepted or continue to study for a university degree. At the moment funds are available for four scholarships, but we hope that with the help of additional donors we will be able to support more participants in the competition.

Application requirements

Requirements

To participate in the competition you need to meet the following three conditions:

• You are a young person with financially difficult circumstances or social challenges (raised by lone parents, foster homes or foster parents, or a young person with disability).
• You are at most 21 years old bulgarian.
• You intend to apply to a university in 2017 or are already enrolled at a university.

Deadlines

15.08.2017 - deadline for submission of applications.
Please email your application at studenti.dobrotvorchestvo@gmail.com with the following information:
1. Contact details
Full name as in passport, еmail and telephone number for contact.

2. Motivation letter
The letter must contain responses to the 4 questions specified above with text length between 500 and 1000 words (around 1 - 2 pages).

3. Highschool education diploma
A copy of the highschool education diploma. Grade average of 4,50 is required. If you are a university student at the time of application you will also need a copy of your courses and grades transcript.

4. A document to verify that you have financially challenging circumstances

• If you have lived or now live in a state foster care home or with foster parents please send us a note to verify that.
• If you have financial difficulties, please send us:
  • Birth certificate copy and a copy of birth certificates of siblings under 18 if any;
  • Parents income/salary slips or statement for the last 6 months;
  • If one of your parents has passed away a death certificate;
  • If one of your parents is unemployed, note from the Labour agency he is certified in the Employment agency.
• If you are disable please send a copy of disability document from TELK/NELK.

15.10.2017 - payment of first month of scholarship (scholarships will be payed in 4 installments or every month by agreement of donor and student);

Selection

Selection panel

The selection panel chairperson is Vaska Glushkova.

Members of the selection panel:

• Radoslav Kirkov
• Radost Konyarska

Selection criteria

• Meeting all conditions for participation.
• High level of motivation to study and realise skills as a specialist.

Results:

We are glad to inform you that thanks to noble donors we have collected 14,400 leva, which will be distributed to the following 12 participants:*

1. Alexandra from Provadia, specialty Assistant pharmacist - Through Pharmacy I will be useful to many people
   
2. Victoria from Plovdiv, majoring in Journalism - Communication with erudite people is of essential importance for the cultivation of creative energy
   
3. Georgi from Provadia, specialty Pedagogy in Physical Education Education - Georgi from Provadia wants to help restore the prestige of the profession "teacher"
   
4. Jessica from Kozloduy Municipality, specialty Psychology - I want to help through the psychology of people and especially of children with problems
   
5. Margarita from Blagoevgrad, specialty Social Pedagogy - I dream with my profession to help disadvantaged people
   
6. Nelly from Vratsa District, specialty Accounting and Control - I want to finish my education and create my own accounting house
   
7. Nikolay from Alfatar, specialty Veterinary Medicine - I love animals from a small animal and I want to learn more about them
   
8. Odrey from Vratsa District, Lawyer - I want to deal with criminal stories and help the victims
   
9. Petar from Varna, specialty Ship machines and mechanisms - The study of ship mechanics in Bulgaria and abroad is enormous
   
10. Radostina from Berkovitsa, specialty Social Pedagogy - Why Do I Teach Specialty "Social Pedagogy"? (The motivation letter is from the competition in 2015)
11. Tityana from Pavlikeni, specialty Psychology - Life offered me the opportunity to communicate and get to know a lot of people - both at school and in the home where I live
    
12. Hasan from Razgrad District, specialty Law - I am ready to fight for the rule of law because it is supreme to values

We wish a successful, inspiring and fruitful school year for all young people who participated in the Volunteerism Competition 2017. We thank all the donors from the heart, thanks to which young people can be financially supported for their education.

Information about all participants in the competition and the collected funds so far can be found at the following address - http://milostiv.org/text/758.

* The list is ordered alphabetically.