Funding from IATW Canada

Youth in Afar are hungry for education. Often it's seen as the only way to climb out of poverty, yet for many youth in the area it's completely unattainable.

For many older members of the Afar pastoralist community, the value of education is not always apparent, so when it comes to their children (especially girls) the opportunity is often overlooked.

For those youth that do get the support to continue their education it's often not feasible. The distances between most of the pastoralist youth and the nearest secondary school is prohibitively far, making it both expensive and challenging for the youth to separate from their family.

To make continued education accessible for youth in grade 9 and 10, the Friendship Support Association, with generous funding from IATW, have created scholarships for 19 Afar youth. The students receive supports on scholastic materials, food support and house rent as they are residing in the District town away from their pastoralist community. Additionally, a tutor was hired to ensure that students keep up with their studies and succeed in the program.