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Eligibility:
We are particularly interested in helping under-priveliged
youth, not limited to the children of Mobed families. How would
children be identified? Is there an eligibility criterion?
Every organization has to start somewhere. Parsi Resource Group’s
(PRG's) goal is to uplift the community in three areas Mobeds, Agiyaries
and Youth. As we are beginning this program we are starting with
children of Full Time Mobeds. We want to start by creating a strong
foundation and who better to start with than those who tend to our
places of worship. For our Mobeds children (boys and girls) there
are no financial criteria that have to be met, just that the father
must be a full time practicing priest. Please know though that over
95% of the Mobeds here in India, earn very little and are in financial
need not only for their children’s education, but also for
other necessities. We have every intention of expanding the program
to include children of the community at large. For those children,
the eligibility criteria are yet to be put in place, but the family’s
financial need will definitely be a consideration factor.
Funds:
Do other groups or trusts in India or Globally support the
Youth Education Program?. Are there any matching funds available?
Many of the trusts and organizations currently do a lot for education,
in their own rights and in their own capacities for primary, secondary
and higher education; however, the idea here is to get the community
at large involved in educating its children. Currently we are not
aware of any matching funds program for a sponsorship type of program.
If you are aware of a program or trust that may be beneficial to
our YEP efforts, please do send us an email: youtheducation@parsiresourcegroup.org.
How will funds be used toward the kids
education- who will distribute these based on school/college needs?
The financial assistance will go towards the child's school fees,
books, uniforms, school transport and the biggest expense here in
India...tuition fees. We at PRG will be writing the checks in the
name of children, and distributing the funds directly to the parents.
Each child has completed a form indicating their financial requirement,
we have screened the same based on education level and allotted
each child an approved monthly amount.
So essentially, here is how it works: You sign up as a sponsor,
choose your child or children, we receive your payment. Every month
checks are distributed for the approved amount. At sign up each
child has to provide evidence of finances outlined as well as performance
in school. Twice a year (after mid-terms and finals) performance
is assessed to make sure that the child is still in school, and
performing.
Volunteers:
How will the progress of children outside Mumbai be assessed?
Are there volunteers in these areas to assess student application
forms?
We are identifying volunteers from various areas of the country
to help us maintain organization over the application forms being
received. In many places outside of Mumbai the main source of information
for Zarathushti families comes from the local Agiyari or Atash Behram’s
Panthaky or Dastur.
What kind of vocational guidance would
be available to help the youth choose more lucrative careers?
This part of the YEP will have to grow as the program grows; however,
for the children in Mumbai we do have career counseling available.
We also conduct periodic youth training and skill enhancement workshops.
How do we ensure that the children are
putting in some effort- what is the supervision/mentors role?
Right now we do not have a formal mentorship program. But student
performance will most definitely play a role in sponsorship eligibility,
to ensure that the kids do indeed study. We will be looking at their
midterm and finals reports.
Sponsors:
What is the duration of commitment needed?
We are currently taking a one year commitment at a time. For administrative
purposes we will be requesting funds to be remitted in one lump
sum payment or divided into 2 payments. Each sponsor will have access
to their child's information on line. Updates will be provided,
online, twice a year once after midterms and then after finals.
Can you define the sponsors role- a monthly
contribution, and letters? Or is this up to the sponsor?
The financial need in India is so great in some many areas, that
we have taken our learning lessons from management teams of other
similar programs. We do not provide the sponsor’s information
to the child or the sponsored family as we do not wish for them
to approach you directly with their needs. If you choose to initiate
contact with your sponsored child, we encourage you to pass your
letters etc. through the PRG office; however, if you choose to communicate
directly with your sponsored child, please know you would be doing
so at your own discretion. We do encourage you to get to know your
child and will help facilitate this process the absolute best way
we can.
What amount would be needed per child?
What about colleges that are more expensive- is there a way for
families to group together to support this?
The amounts will vary based on education level, but again the amount
approved is not necessarily the entire amount requested by the child.
We encourage folks to group together, but we will only be able to
accept one payment per child. So if someone is willing to pull the
finances for the group together and then remit one payment to us
that would be fabulous. More people could participate and more children
would be helped. For example the Zoroastrian Association of Pennsylvania
(ZAPA) as a whole is sponsoring a couple of children, but the ZAPA
President will be our point person and she will be responsible for
collecting the funds from all the families and remitting the payment
to us.
Can a sponsor choose to fund the school
education of the child, or college education or both?
Yes. Sponsors will have a lot of choices. They can choose based
on a list of criteria which include age, area, and level of study.
IF a sponsor chooses to support the child above and beyond the PRG
approved amount, we will work with those sponsors individually to
determine need and process the request accordingly. Sponsors can
also go ahead and make time commitments of longer than 1 year to
support a child.
Is there a direct deposit facility available,
where we can have an amount automatically billed to a credit card
each month?
Not yet, mainly because India is not a direct deposit kind of culture.
Indian laws require user authorization for each transaction. That
is one of the reasons we are requesting payment in 1 or at the maximum
2 installments. We are hoping you will understand and if you need
to pay monthly, that you then break up your credit card payments
into monthly payments. We do realize that this may be a little inconvenient,
but after all it is for a GREAT cause!
If we have additional
questions or queries where can we direct them?
We would love to hear from you. Please write to us at youtheducation@parsiresourcegroup.org.
You may also contact our office in Mumbai, India via telephone at
+91-22-6669 9306. Office hours are Monday to Friday, 11 a.m. to
6 p.m. (Indian Standard Time). Additional phone numbers include:
+91-98210 60554 or +91-98922 73973.
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