The Good Samaritan Foundation is helping senior high school students who are doing it tough to continue their education and receive hope and empowerment through a scholarship program, which is also having positive impacts on families, schools and the broader community.
The Foundation’s Australian Education Grants: High School Scholarship Program offers students a high-quality, subsidised education in Good Samaritan Education (GSE) schools, of which there are ten in Australia.
On average, the program offers 20 scholarships per year to students in Years 11 and 12 who do not have the funds to continue their studies in their current GSE school.
Good Samaritan Foundation Executive Director Sonya Mears said a high school scholarship eases a disadvantaged family’s financial burden, and the stress associated with debt.
“At the Good Samaritan Foundation, we believe that education is the driver of empowerment and self-efficacy, giving students the self-confidence to take control and work towards their dreams and goals,” she said.
“The Foundation’s Australian Scholarship Program addresses the problem of educational inequity by offering a scholarship to families who are unable to continue to pay for their young person’s continued education at their current GSE College.
“This intervention relieves the stress on families and mitigates the risk of students disengaging from school at a critical stage of their education.
“The Scholarship Program’s aim is to support financially disadvantaged students to complete the Higher School Certificate so that they have a range of career options and a pathway to lifelong learning.”
Sonya said a range of factors in family life could create financial stress and impact the ability of young people to continue in their education. These might include family violence, family breakdown and separation, parental illness, including mental health, and unemployment.
Experiencing some of these factors at home can have a big effect on school life for young people.
“Apart from the normal pressures of Year 11 and 12 studies, there is the added stress associated with financial disadvantage, such as no funds for school fees, uniforms or resources,” Sonya said. “There is also the fear of being seen as different to their peer group.”
The prospect of having to leave their current school can also create a fear of leaving a secure and familiar school environment and the fear of losing friendship and support groups.
“This can all lead to mental health risks, general health risks, school disengagement and, finally, early school leaving,” Sonya said.
“Our Scholarship Program is about breaking that cycle of poverty and inequality and instead providing empowerment and self-confidence, access to opportunities both at school and after leaving school, and through these life opportunities, to create intergenerational change.”
Sonya said the Scholarship Program not only helped the student, but also had a broad social impact.
“The funds provide a family with dignity and hope that parent/child relationships and relationships within the family and outside the home are improved,” she said.
The scholarships also support school communities by playing a crucial role in promoting diversity and inclusivity in the school.
“They help ensure that higher education is accessible to everyone. This diversity fosters a more equitable learning environment for the school community,” Sonya said.
And they help build social capital across the broader community.
“By enabling students to continue with their academic studies, these scholarships ensure students, regardless of their economic circumstances, have the opportunity to become participants in a highly educated, skilled workforce that actively contributes to their community’s economic growth,” Sonya said.
Students who receive the scholarships have expressed their gratitude, sharing how the assistance has had a positive impact on their lives.
“I live with my guardian, who is not a member of my family,” one student recipient said. “She works very hard to pay for all my needs. She will struggle to meet school costs during my two final years at school. The grant will go towards subject fees, books, excursions and the full uniform I will need.”
Another student said the scholarship had enabled her to access education tools, including a new laptop.
“Wearing the senior college uniforms, I now feel a part of the community. It has also taken immense pressure off my family,” she said.
A parent said the scholarship had provided crucial support for both them and their daughter at a deeply challenging time.
“I can’t tell you what a difference this has made,” the parent said. “It is a struggle to pay our expenses and cover school fees. I wanted to keep my daughter at her Good Sams school where she has friends and a network of support. Without the grant I would have had to take her out of school.”
Principals, too, have expressed appreciation for what the scholarship program does for students and the school community in general.
One GSE school principal said the scholarship had supported a refugee student to settle into life in an Australian school.
“This student will use the grant money to purchase a laptop for senior school, to assist the purchase of a senior school uniform and with general school expenses.”
Sonya said the scholarships were made possible through the generosity of donors to the Good Samaritan Foundation.
Throughout their 167-year history, the Sisters of the Good Samaritan have been committed to the flourishing of women and have educated girls and women from pre-school to tertiary levels.
The Foundation was established in 1999 to provide ongoing finances and resources to the ministries established by the Sisters.
Anyone wishing to support the Foundation’s Australian Education Grants can do so by donating at: https://good-samaritans.raisely.com/. Donations over $2 are tax deductible in Australia.
This article was published in the September 2024 edition of The Good Oil.
