GivingTuesday:Educate Youth - Support Scholarships

The Institute of Chin Affairs Inc. (ICA) is a non-profit, 501 registered organisation founded in May 2021 by members of the Chin diaspora. ICA’s programmes include fundraising to support salaries for Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) teachers on the border with Myanmar, supporting the establishment of camp based schools for refugee children, as well as pioneering the Myanmar Refugee Fellowship Programme, formerly funded by the Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship Programme (DISP), under USAID. This programme supports 14 undocumented students from Myanmar to join Masters programmes in Northeast India, studying subjects including Business, English and Political Science. All students are members of Myanmar’s Civil Disobedience Movement, leaving their jobs and previous studies to stand against the illegal junta takeover in February 2021. ICA has worked for 3 years to build trust with higher education institutions and state government departments to bring about this programme, which is the first scholarship programme for Myanmar refugees in the Northeast. However, due to the cancellation of the DISP programme under USAID, the vital funding for scholarships has been withdrawn.

In the June and the first part of July, ICA has made some progress in our efforts to find funding to support the students in finishing their Masters degrees. With support from the Jesuit Relief Service, the tuiton fees for the second year of the student’s study will be paid, which will help keep the programme going until October 2025. While this is extremely helpful, ICA is still faced with a funding gap of USD 79,516 to allow the students to complete their degrees safely.