Scholarship Program

The work AOGE is built on two foundations: restoration and prevention.

As already mentioned on the page Our Homes, rescued girls are welcomed into the AOGE family and our homes where restoration work continues. Vocational education and training opportunities are available through Shristi Gyan School and our sustainability projects.

However, we understand prevention is that the best way to fight against human trafficking. We are dealing with individual lives. We do not want more girls and young woman to be trapped in the terrible nightmare of human trafficking. Currently, it is estimated that 12,000 children are trafficked from Nepal to India every year. No single organization can restore so many.

Not all those we receive in our homes have been trafficked. Some came because they were at risk due to being orphaned, abandoned, abused/neglected, or having a family history of trafficking. They are part of our family because we want to prevent them from being trafficked.

Prevention

We found the most effective way to reach more children and adolescents in our prevention effort was to distribute scholarships. We understand that the probability of a child being trafficked decreases dramatically when enrolled in school and studying. Usually, traffickers approach families and offer to take their children to study in Kathmandu or elsewhere, so if they are already studying, they will not be easy prey.

Thus, we visit towns and villages in countryside of Nepal and distribute scholarships so children can study at local schools. We provide school supplies, books, backpacks, uniforms and shoes and also pay school fees. Government schools routinely charge some fees during the school year, which discourages many families from enrolling their children.

In all villages where scholarships are distributed, we invite local people to awareness programs, especially in high-risk areas where the chances of human trafficking are great. Therefore, other children in the community also benefit.

The distribution of scholarships is an excellent tool because the child remains with family in their community. Additionally, a child staying with us costs ten times more than a scholarship. Despite AOGE being an organization that welcomes and educates boys and girls, we understand that it is ideal for a child to grow up and be educated in his own family. As a last resort, when the risk of being trafficked or harmed is imminent, we bring a child to live, be educated and cared for by AOGE.

800+ Individuals benefiting AOGE efforts in education

1
Shristi Gyan School
1
High School in Kathmandu
1
Reintegrated with their families
1
Scholarship for prevention

Presently, we have around 400 scholarships distributed throughout Nepal. We want to increase this number in the coming years. Our current contract with the government requires 1,200 scholarships by the year 2023, but it counts all the individuals we are educating or helping, like those who live in villages targeted for prevention, all the children who live in AOGE homes, those who have been reintegrated with their families and those who study at our school.

If we total all of them, more than 800 individuals are being educated through the efforts of AOGE. We also provide follow-up services including assessment of needs to all of those receiving scholarships and their families.

AOGE scholarship program has been commended by the Nepalese government, the communities that benefit and even the United Nations (UN). The long-term goal is to put an end to human trafficking and promote safe communities for children.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

You can make a difference in a child’s life and reduce the chances of being trafficked. The cost of a scholarship is $ 10.00 (ten dollars) per month or $ 120.00 (one hundred twenty dollars) per year. This pays the school fees and supplies for one child.

More people contributing to the scholarship program will mean more children and adolescents who will have the opportunity to study, reducing their likelihood of being trafficked.

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