Hope for the Young
Hope for the Young's Sponsored Walk 2019
We are walking 8 miles through Hampstead Heath on Saturday 21st September to raise awareness and money for Hope for the Young.
Story
***Info for the day***
Day: Saturday 21st September
Start Time: Meeting at 9.30am
Location: Starting from Hampstead Heath's Largest Car Park next to East Heath Road HERE.
Registration: Let us know if you can but otherwise no need, just turn up!
Despite the complex challenges young refugees and asylum-seekers have faced, it is education that remains their primary focus. Learning new skills and knowledge provides the hope of a better life and future prospects for them and their families. However, many young people wishing to return to education encounter a series of obstacles when trying to enrol.
Asylum-seekers in the UK are currently categorised as international students and must pay international student fees that can range between £8,000 £28,000 per year. Those over 18 are not entitled to work and are provided a basic allowance of £37.75 to live off per week. Education, therefore, remains inaccessible to those who may have to wait many years for a decision on whether they can stay in the country (6 years is the average length of time our applicants have been in the UK before contacting us).
We have seen the devastating consequence of not being able to work or study. Rather than let these young people's isolation and lack of opportunities increase, our Education Fund supports young people to access education by providing grants to pay for their tuition fees, living allowances and travel expenses. To see the impact this has, read Agnes' story here.
However, with the number of applicants increasing year on year, we are now only able to fund approximately one third of applicants. This means two thirds of young people continue to be unable to access the education they need to rebuild their lives. We don't want to see this happen and are therefore walking 8 miles through Hampstead Heath to raise money for this important service.
I would like to thank Hope for the Young for giving me a chance. We need far more organisations like you around, so that more young people can get the opportunity, like I've had, to chase my dreams.
For people like me, even a small grant means enormous things. Helping people both financially and emotionally makes a significant difference and Hope for the Young has been that supporter for me. Without them, one more dream would have been crushed under the weight of hopeless, unending weight and doubts.
Your donation will go directly towards this project and help us to fund more young people to access the education they deserve. Thank you so much for your support.