Quality Education

 

In Vapor Ministries’ continued effort to provide holistic community transformation in the areas we serve, quality educational opportunities and initiatives are a cornerstone effort in breaking generational cycles of poverty. These programs provide a critical opportunity for individuals across our footprint and come in a variety of formats; traditional, biblical, and practical.

 

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, representatives from each Vapor Ministries’ center routinely traveled deep into the communities in which they serve, providing materials and practical education to members of those communities related to the disease and measures to slow its spread. Practical education continues to happen across the footprint in ways that are specific to each community.

 

Biblical education is another cog in the educational wheel, which primarily happens as a function of the discipleship sports leagues taking place in each center on a daily basis. League participants participate in age-appropriate discipleship training, led by individual coaches from a pre-approved curriculum of material.

 

Traditional educational activity takes place is via the Hasmin’s Friends Child Sponsorship program. The Hasmin’s Friends program is comprised of two components, both of which allow for the traditional education of an identified student. These students are identified by local staff, who determine the ‘poorest of the poor’ participating in the leagues, those in the most desperate need of assistance, and submit applications for those students to be sponsored by a U.S. donor.

 

When a child becomes sponsored through the Hasmin’s Friends program, the sponsor agrees to a monthly contribution of $62, which covers school fees, including tuition, books and uniforms, as well as daily food supplemental to what they receive while attending school. Basic health care is also provided to the students through the program as well.

 

When sponsored children complete secondary school, those who are eligible and show a desire to continue into a trade school or postsecondary school can receive a Hasmin’s Friends scholarship at a cost to the sponsor of $95 per month. Students sponsored via a Hasmin’s Friends scholarship are paired with a mentor and are required to spend a minimum of eight hours volunteering at their local Vapor Ministries’ center each week. In addition, they must attend at least one discipleship lesson per week. This program gives the student and their family a greater chance of breaking poverty's chains. 

 

In order for the program to be effectively monitored, students sponsored through the Hasmin’s Friends program attend approved schools and are in close mentorship with the Education Coordinator from their local center to ensure the parameters for the sponsorship are being met.