We need R108,000 to help 20 refugees pay their registration fees at university to be able to study.
Today in the world, there is more than 65 million forcibly displaced people, out of which more than 21 million are refugees and 10 million are stateless (no nationality).
In South Africa, there currently is a population of about 1.2 million asylum seekers and refugees living. Most of them live in very precarious conditions and cannot fulfill their most basic needs, such as food, shelter and education.
We aim to empower the asylum seekers and refugee community in SA by helping them get access to tertiary education.
Furaha Education Support was officially born in November 2016. The co-founders, Olivier and Jonathan are both from the Democratic Republic of Congo and live and work in Cape Town. Having gone through similar hardships while trying to complete their academic studies, they decided to try to make a difference by helping other asylum seekers and refugees who have the will to study, but can’t afford it.
We are busy growing a network of refugees in need of financial assistance to get access to tertiary education or, when applicable vocational training. We are also currently busy engaging with various potential fund providers, in in the sectors of the economy. We have for example met and reach a collaboration agreement with the HCI Foundation, which offers bursaries to a limited number of asylum seekers and refugees.
These are the various ways we trying to help as many refugees to unlock their full potential and contribute event more to the economy of South Africa:
We are currently preparing to attend a couple of workshops and summits inside and outside South Africa, in order to share best practices with other people around the world who are experts on the topics of refugee assistance and on education for all.
Milestones
Tipping Point (R43,000): We can help 10 asylum seekers or refugees pay for their registration and at least get to start attending classes (R3,500 per registration). The rest will help partially cover the costs for the completion of the final version of our website and printing our flyers and a few T-Shirts for sponsors.
Dream Goal (108,000): We can help 20 asylum seekers or refugees register at university, cover all costs for the printing and website development (R8,000) and a laptop (R4,000). We will also be able to cover our operating costs for the next six months.
Lucky for us, the Barclays Rise has sponsored us by granting us permission to use their office space at no cost, until we are able to sustain ourselves.
We have also been benefiting from the coaching of Vuyisa Qabaka, a Social Innovator by heart and Entrepreneur by profession, co-founder of Entrepreneur Traction.
How much money do we want and what do we want to achieve with it?
If you or your company are interested in assisting with sponsoring, making a donation towards the cost, or even granting a full bursary to a refugee, but would like any further information, please do get in touch with to chat about it. You can reach us on 072 305 7337 / 078 587 8084 or on the below email addresses: info@furahaedusupport.com, olivier@furahaedusupport.com or jonathan@furahaedusupport.com
Please do help spread the word by sharing this crowdfunding project and reaching out to your contacts so that we can make a difference!
Please show your interest on our social media platforms too and be kept up to date with news relating to this project. All sponsors will be promoted via these pages.
We are two young, enthusiastic and dynamic social innovators, who understand that if we want things to change for the better, we have to be that change.
Both originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, we have in the past, known the hardships of being a asylum seekers in a foreign land, which we now consider our second home.
We now use our talents and sense of innovation to help other refugees empower themselves through education.
Should you require more information about us, please find our contact details by following any of the links we provided.