Shambala Foundation- First Job Experience Program

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Shambala Foundation has been working in Huangnan Prefecture since 2006. In 2008, they started a program called “Orphanage Without Walls” (OWW). The goal of OWW was to help 360 of the poorest families in the area out of poverty through their children’s education. As years went by, more and more of Shambala’s OWW-kids finished their education, but found it difficult to bridge the gap between life as a student and the workforce.

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To address this problem, Shambala Foundation started the First Job Experience Program (FJEP) in 2015. Every summer and winter holiday, Shambala recruits 50 students from universities, colleges, and vocational schools for one month of training and teaching. First, all students gather in Rebgong for one week of teacher training. After training, they are sent out to 20-30 different remote villages and townships to offer 120 hours of free additional teaching to local primary school students. In return, each local community must supply housing, food and a classroom to each FJEP-teacher.

After teaching, each FJEP-teacher returns to Rebgong for debriefing and reporting, and receives a scholarship for the upcoming semester. This program benefits both the FJEP-teachers, and the primary school students they work with, deepening learning for both groups throughout the summer months and providing essential on-the-job experience for university students.

Shambala Foundation surveyed FJEP participants and found that 70% of FJEP participants improved class rankings between 2016 and 2018. Perhaps even more interesting: on average, male FJEP participants had received 6.6 years more education than their fathers. Female participants had received an astonishing 8.7 years more education than their mothers. This kind of rapid change within one generation is promising, to say the least, as we know that educated mothers especially are far more likely to ensure that their own children are educated. Moreover, they tend to have smaller families and healthier children overall.

We are honored to have been a part of the 2018 FJEP program, and look forward to sharing more updates from Shambala as they continue to grow this program in the region.

This project was made possible by our generous partnership with Hawkins Wright.