Illustrative image (Photo:VNA)Da Nang (VNA) – The East Meets West organisation offered scholarships totalling 13.8 billion VND (168,102 USD) to nearly 3,000 underprivileged students nationwide in the 2015-2016 academic year, heard a conference in the central city of Da Nang on June 24.
Students from families listed in the poorest 10 percent of the populations in seven central localities have benefited from SPELL (Scholarship Programme to Enhance Literacy and Learning), which was set up in 2004 to grant long-term scholarships to poor students, helping them pursue education and secure a brighter future.
In the 2015-2016 academic year, 100 percent of the beneficiary students passed the entrance exam to high schools, while 97 percent successful in high school graduation exam and 35 percent entered universities.
Eighty students under the programme also won provincial, regional and national contests for outstanding students.
Meanwhile, the SPELL Goes To College programme, set up in 2011, gave 5 billion VND (22,727 USD) in scholarship to 223 students to help them pay university tuitions and living cost.
The programme also held activities for the students to help other underprivileged people in the community, together with social skill training courses.
The East Meets West, also known as Thrive Network, is an international non-governmental organisation pioneering evidence-based programmes and technologies in health, water and sanitation, and education for underserved populations in Asia and Africa.-VNA
