All about the girl 2017 update

2017

Vocational School Scholarship & My First Job Program Update

From the CEO……………………………………………………………………………………….4 Back in school……………………………………………………………………………………...6 New Beginnings……………………………………………………………………………………8 Training makes the difference…………………………………………………………….10 Ready to learn…………………………………………………………………………………….11 With Brave Wings She Flies…………………………………………………………………12 What does sponsoring a girl do?.............................................................14 New Opportunities…………………………………………………………………………....16 Teaching girls skills for their future…………………………………………………….17

Welcome to the Captivating Vocational School Scholarship &

My First Job Program Update

Girls Just Like Me ………………………………………………………………………………18

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It's my great pleasure to welcome you to our “MY FIRST JOB and VOCATIONAL SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIP” annual program update. In March 2016 we launched TWO NEW PROGRAMS at Captivating. We did this because our partners, working in remote rural locations, were regularly coming across girls in their late teen years who were not in school, sitting largely idle in their village. Upon investigation, these girls would largely fall into two categories: (1) Girls who had dropped from school during their middle school years; or (2) Girls who had dropped from school before finishing primary school (some no schooling at all).

What concerned us most was the age of these girls. Picture this: girls 15+ years of age, out of school, and largely unemployable. In our world, this means a melting-pot of trouble ahead. Without help, these girls find themselves at the bottom of societies ladder and the easy targets of oppression, abuse, or worse. Common outcomes can easily become early marriage, teenage pregnancy, or a girl simply disappearing. But we can also see a different picture being possible.

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These girls have SO MUCH capability, passion, and a desire to improve their world.

They just need a genuine start - not a handout or a band-aid, but a genuine transformation.

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THE CAPTIVATING VOCATIONAL SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM (VSS) targets girls 15+yrs of age who have come close to completing middle school before their education dreams abruptly stopped – due largely to a combination of poverty and parents not valuing the education of girls. They have already cried many tears. The VSS program gives them an unexpected final chance. In partnership with government subsidized vocational schools, a girl (upon passing an entrance exam) will receive 3 years of schooling eventually receiving a Vocational High School Diploma. Her final year will consist of predominately INTERNSHIP experience in her chosen profession. Our on-the-ground partner (SHAMTSE) will track and support her all the way, and even assist her secure and settle into her first job - a career of her interest and choosing. She will leave her mark on the world.

CAPTIVATING'S MY FIRST JOB PROGRAM (MFJ) targets girls who are 18+ years of age who have, sadly, missed most of their schooling. Some girls in this program have never set a foot inside a school. Most girls are largely illiterate, making the VSS program above not an option. MFJ aims to, as quickly as possible, get them into their very first (and very best) job. Each girl in this program receives 4 months of intensive skill based training (currently assistant chef training, or professional home services) as well as basic life, reading and writing skills. Next follows 2 months of internship with partner businesses, and then help to secure their first job. Because these girls are quite fragile, our team at SHAMTSE are there to mentor and support them for up to 2 years while they get established.

We're excited about both of these programs, and looking forward to each of them evolving and expanding over the years. These two programs will TRANSFORM lives. You are receiving this report because you've quite likely been involved in helping us pioneer this work. If so, then on behalf of the 125 girls currently in the VSS program, and the 49 girls going through MFJ, THANK YOU SO MUCH for your generosity and support. Together, we're bringing hope of a better tomorrow to all of these girls, their families back home, and the many more that now wait for their chance to shine.

I hope you enjoy reading some of the stories and seeing pictures of girls who have SO MUCH potential and capacity. Make it personal, and see these girls as your extended global family. You’re making them believe in dreams again.

Our thanks

Andrew Colquhoun CEO CAPTIVATING INTERNATIONAL 5

53 girls have just completed their first year back in school thanks to the incredible support of our global Captivating sponsorship family.

Having started their vocational programs in September 2016, these girls are majoring in various vocational subjects across 6 government vocational schools who offer subsidies to help bridge the financial gap. This will give them the skills and knowledge to go into their very first job.

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Nursing Tibetan Medicine Computer Skills Kindergarten & Pre-school teachers Veterinary Studies Primary Teaching Tourism Accounting Construction Assistant

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Starting September 2017, 72 girls are ready to begin their vocational training in the Captivating Vocational School Scholarship Program. These girls have not been able to complete their schooling for various reasons and are so excited that their dream of completing their education is about to come true.

Each of these girls greatly value this incredible opportunity made possible because of our amazing Captivating Sponsorship Family. Thank you for being the heroes in these girls lives.

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My First Job Assistant Chef Program was launched in February 2016 with 10 young women. After 4 months of training followed by 2 months of on-the-job training through an internship, 9 young women entered their very first, paid, full-time job – SUCCESS!

‌and are still employed full time!

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This September, 20 young women are about to begin the My First Job Assistant Chef Program for 2017. These young women are in desperate need of a future that provides them with safety, independence, value and skills. The My First Job program offers just that. These young women will ready for their very first job within 12 months.

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Sanje was born to a poor family. She was not able to go to school but had to ‘grow up’ quickly and take care of her injured father and the daily household chores while her mother had to go out and find some work.

Motso had to finish school in grade 4 and spent the next 11 years in a wheelchair, in and out of hospital. Her family spent all their money and incurred great debt.

Motso defied all the doctors’ predictions and at 22 years of age, was finally able to walk again.

All it took was a sponsor to decide to support each of these girls. It’s costs US$1,300 to fully fund a girl through a MY FIRST JOB program, including all support costs which continue for up to 2 years after the program has finished – just to be certain things are working ok. And, their world literally transforms within 12 months. These young women can finally spread their wings and fly. With determination, bravery and commitment to work hard – she flies to new opportunities.

Sanje and Motso applied for the Captivating My First Job Assistant Chef program and started their journey to a brighter future in 2016 and secured their very first full-time job in a restaurant as waitresses and assistants to the head chef.

Now independent young women, they dreamed of owning and running their very own restaurant. With careful planning and hard work, these young ladies dreams will come true in late September 2017.

“Everything has been like a dream to both of us,” explain the girls. “We never thought that we could become so confident before we attended the program.”

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When you sponsor a girl, her world immediately takes a 180 degree turn. First and foremost, she will get back into school and start to dream again of what she hopes to make of her life. Your support makes this happen.

“To the world you are one person, but to one person you are the world.”

But even more so, she will receive an immediate emotional lift. For days she will reflect on the new revelation that “someone chose to sponsor ME, my sponsor thinks I’m special.”

Sponsoring a girl = happy days, not just for the girl but for you and your family. Your family population just increased by 1. In effect, you will become part of this girl’s story – doing for her what her biological parents cannot.

Thank you to Captivating’s incredible, global sponsorship family of concerned parents. Your girl will change the world. You gave her wings.

"If you're a company or school, talk to us about how to join our prestigious corporate partnership team"

If you would like to sponsor a girl, Sponsorship starts from US$40 a month.

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Please email francine@captivating.org or go to our website captivating.org/sponsor-a-child/ where you will find more girls who are waiting for you to help.

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My name is Angja. I heard about the My First Job Home Services Program and agreed to teach and instruct the 20 girls. I am really motivated by this innovative program and the effort that is put in to help women and children from rural and poor areas.

Thanks to fantastic support from the Li & Fung Foundation, our new My First Job Home Services Program was launched in May 2017 with 20 young women from the rural highlands of Qinghai, China who had the opportunity to begin their 4 months of training. The 2 month internship starts in September 2017.

The program has been going now for a few months and I am so pleased to see each of the 20 young women in the My First Job Home Services Program progressing every day. Many of them have little to no experience in most of these skills and many don’t know how to read or write and so I have needed to be creative and encouraging to these girls to give them the confidence to carry out these unfamiliar tasks carefully and learn things that are foreign to them.

Training includes 3 core areas of learning; 1) 2) 3)

Post Natal Mother & Baby Care Aged Care Professional Home Cleaning Services

Angja teaching a class with his assistant in the front row .

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I was blessed to have the opportunity to speak to them via a translator about how valued, precious and special they all are all having gifts and abilities to change not only their own lives but their children and their communities. Some of the girls, as I glanced around, had tears in their eyes as I don't believe that anyone has ever said that to them before.

Getting a chance to visit and chat to the My First Job girls was such a special and rewarding experience for me. Hearing first hand stories of girls needing to leave school at grade 3 because of family needs, domestic abuse, being severely burnt by a stepfather and never wanting to show your face in public, coping with single motherhood living in tents on the grassland with no food to supply your children was heart breaking.

Words cannot express how much it means to these girls to be given lifeskills, hygiene education, how best to care for children, how to clean apartments, toilets, using public transport, going shopping in supermarkets allows them to rebuild dignity, self-worth and value in the community and their family. Many of these things we take for granted as we are taught them growing up. A glimpse into where these girls are currently and the difficulties and hardship they have to deal with, allows me another glimpse into where they are heading with being given the opportunity to learn, grow, and be able to get jobs that will be able to care for their children.

When we left the girls, I couldn’t help but tear up as these girls are just like me wanting to be loved, given value, hope, believed in and given a second chance at life to really make a contribution and be accepted into their community as women able to make a change and difference.

“Beauty from ashes” – One girl can make a difference but together we can change our world.

Julie Colquhoun Captivating Co-Founder

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CONTACT Daniella May at daniella@captivating.org QUESTIONS ABOUT SPONSORSHIP contact Francine Zhang at francine@captivating.org DONATE to this project through our website captivating.org and receive tax deductible receipts for Hong Kong, Australia and US donations.

DONATING from China, contact francine@captivating.org SPEAK UP and spread the word about this project to your family, friends, and business networks

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