Educational Programs are our number one priority. Among our three Orphans Educational Programs — Basic Sponsorships, Scholarships, and Need-based Subsidies — the Basic Sponsorship program takes precedence over all others. To ensure no misappropriation of donated funds, our own staff and volunteers handle the distribution of funds, and money never passes through the hands of officials or middlemen.
Basic Sponsorship
Children who qualify for the program are those who have at least one HIV positive parent, or at least one parent who has died of AIDS. We always verify their eligibility and “spot check” to ensure that only those who are entitled receive sponsorship.
There is no preset number or limit to the number of children who can be funded, to discourage competition among villagers by their debasing themselves. We aim to preserve the dignity of these children every step of the way.
Once a student receives funding, he/she is guaranteed sponsorship for all his/her years of education. We wish to help each sponsored student to achieve as high a degree of education as that student wishes to pursue and is capable of attaining, so as to realized his/her full potential.
Cost per year of funding a student:
A primary student:
HK$400 (CA$67) per year
A junior high school student:
HK$670 (CA$112) per year
A Vocational school student:
HK$4,200 (CA$700) per year
A senior high school student:
HK$6,000 (CA$1,000) per year
A university student:
*HK$7,500 (CA$1,250) per year
* Estimate only, as actual amount varies by university
Merit-based Award
Cash awards are given each semester to children under our Basic Sponsorship with the top academic achievements, as an encouragement. The award amount may vary depending on the availability of funding.
Need-based Subsidy
Children who have lost both parents to AIDS or have no one caring for them are eligible for this program, which usually entails paying for room and board at boarding schools.
The Impact of This Program
Your donation and the donation given directly to Chi Heng Foundation in Hong Kong have cumulatively sponsored over 26,000 children and youth since 2002, ranging from junior school students, to junior high school, senior high school, vocational training school, university, and graduate school students.
Over 2,800 (14%) of sponsored students have gone on to university and graduate school.
Around 12,000 have graduated from school and are independent, contributing members of society.
Currently sponsoring over 8,000 students, including around 5,700 junior and junior high school students, 900 senior high school students, 480 vocational school students, and over 1,000 university students (including those in graduate schools).
Tracking statistics over a period of 8 years show that 60% of our high school graduates go on to university education. Among those who have attended our summer camps (part of psychosocial therapy), the percentage is as high as 80%. This is a far higher percentage than those supported by other NGOs conducting education assistance work in China. For example, another study in one geographic area shows that the advancement rate to post-high school studies for non-Chi Heng-sponsored students was only 10%.
Among those who advance to university, over 10% do so with such superb graduating scores that they are given scholarships by Chi Heng Foundation as an encouragement.
To date, over 3,300 sponsored students have gone on to university and graduate school. Among them, 2,059 have graduated and are now pursuing a large variety of careers in China and overseas, careers such as sales, finance, education, systems engineering, design, human resources, hospitality and catering, medical care, architecture and construction, accounting, administration, personal training, mechanical engineering, journalism, traffic administration, and many more. Furthermore, Chi Heng has cumulatively sponsored 1,500 students for vocational school training in which about 1,000 students have graduated. About 30% of these students have been working in related industries.
Recently, a university graduate sponsored by Chi Heng received a full scholarship to pursue a PhD degree at the University of Georgia (with direct advancement from her undergraduate degree), after having been accepted by several U. S. universities for post-graduate studies. This is the latest example of how an AIDS-impacted child’s destiny has been completely transformed with your support!
Newspaper coverage of the university graduate sponsored by Chi Heng who received a full scholarship to pursue a PhD degree at the University of Georgia (with direct advancement from her undergraduate degree), after having been accepted by several U. S. universities for post-graduate studies.
Besides the above student, several others have also gone on to study at overseas universities with grants or scholarships for post-graduate studies, such as University of Aberdeen in the United Kingdom, Niigata University in Japan, and Flinders University in Australia.
Other sponsored students have gone on to study at many acclaimed universities throughout China, including Peking University, Beijing Normal University, Wuhan University, Zhongshan University, Zhejian University, Xiamen University, Jiaotong University, Harbin Industrial University, Nankai University, Beihang University, Minzu University, and Beijing University of Technology.
