Hegg Hoffet Fund for Displaced Women Graduates

As the end of 2018 is fast approaching, Graduate Women International (GWI) looks back with gratitude on what the generosity of our donors has allowed us to achieve through the GWI Hegg Hoffet programme. At the beginning of the year, the Hegg Hoffet programme awarded a displaced women from Palestine the opportunity to register for the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme OSCE, Objective Structured Clinical Examination, Parts 1 and 2. Displaced from her home country of Palestine and for fear of prosecution, she sought asylum in the United Kingdom. Given the opportunity to take the OSCE exam in London she can now continue to pursue her legal profession. We are in close contact and she has expressed her sincere gratitude to GlobalGiving and the Graduate Women International Hegg Hoffet programme for this life-changing opportunity. Earlier in August, GWI supported the purchase of neuro and biopsychology textbooks for one of our grantees. These books will contribute to the advanced studies of our recipient who has express much gratefulness.

The Hegg Hoffet programme assists graduate women (and in special cases tertiary women students) who have been displaced as a result of war, political upheaval or other serious emergencies. Some are fleeing gender-related atrocities in their home countries, such as rape, honour crimes, forced marriage and female mutilation. Others fear for their lives because of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, or membership in a particular social group. Arriving in a new country, most face complex challenges to integration, among them language difficulties, unemployment, rejection of foreign qualifications and the need for retraining.

GlobalGiving contributions are critical for the success of GWI’s Hegg Hoffet programme. Through GlobalGiving support, GWI will continue to provide short-term grants for refresher courses for re-entry into the candidates’ professional field (or if that is not possible, training courses leading to some other employment), and for language training and other courses to assist with integration into their new countries. In addition to financial assistance, GWI’s national and local groups also provide the graduate refugees with moral support to help them to adjust to life in a different country.

We appreciate your contributions today, and every day.

With appreciation,

Thanks to the contributions from our donors GWI recently supported the purchase of neuro and biopsychology textbooks for one of our grantees. These books will contribute to the advanced studies of our recipient who has express much gratefulness.

Did you know that the Hegg-Hoffet Fund has been instrumental in providing help to refugee and displaced graduate women for over 82 years? The Hegg Hoffet Fund was established in 1936 as the International Federation of University Women (now Graduate Women International) Emergency Fund to help women at the graduate level and above who had been deprived of the right to work, and in many cases, the right to live in their native countries. Arriving in a new country, most face complex challenges to integration, among them language difficulties, unemployment, rejection of foreign qualifications and the need for retraining. Later called the Relief Fund, it took the name of Madame Blanche Hegg Hoffet (1894-1978) in 1968, to honour her many years of service during and after the Second World War.

GWI, along with our Hegg Hoffet grantees send sincere thanks.