Ethnic minority girls will receive seven-year scholarships to complete their high school and undergraduate university courses under a new scheme announced by its sponsors on March 29.

The VinaCapital Foundation (VCF) and Vu A Dinh Fund said they were entering into a partnership to implement an “innovative” programme to help educate ethnic minority girls, one of the most disadvantaged groups in the country.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Don Lam, CEO of VinaCapital Group and Chairman of the VinaCapital Foundation, and Vu Quang Vinh, director of the fund, an NGO that focuses on providing scholarships for ethnic minority students.

The progamme called “A Brighter Path: Scholarships for Ethnic Minority Girls” will provide scholarships for girls from various ethnic minority communities throughout Vietnam who are exemplary students.

The initial donation of 13,500 USD to fund the first year of scholarships for 50 girls is being provided by Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (CanCham), and will be matched by the VinaCapital Group.

The programme will provide 100 girls from poor families with scholarships for seven years to attend high school and university.

Eligible applicants must be members of one of Vietnam ’s ethnic minority groups, demonstrate high academic excellence, and come from families living at or below the national poverty line – monthly per capita income of 13 USD.

Once accepted into the programme, each student will receive a seven-year scholarship, including four years of university, that includes support for books, food, housing and uniforms or clothing.

In addition, VCF and Vu A Dinh will convene the girls once a year for the “Dream Meeting”, a workshop/retreat that will give them a chance to reflect on their progress and brainstorm future goals.

The girls will also be matched with mentors from Vu A Dinh, who will keep open lines of communication in the event the girls need academic or personal guidance.

The programme’s pilot year will support 50 15-year-old girls from various communities all over Vietnam , after which the number of students will be increased to 100./.