DAFI Scholarships

The DAFI programme enables young refugees to continue post-secondary education and motivates refugee children to stay in school and succeed academically. For students and graduates, the DAFI programme serves as a foundation for social and professional development, allowing them to build careers in competitive fields of employment. The social returns of the DAFI programme exceed investment at the individual level. Highly educated refugees reduce economic and psychological dependence of whole communities in asylum, improving their self-reliance and preparing them for long-term solutions.

The strategic priorities of the DAFI programme are to:

• Promote self-reliance and empowerment of the sponsored student and his/her family with the skills needed for gainful employment;
• Develop qualified human resources and build the capacity and leadership of talented refugees in order to contribute to the process of reintegration in the home country upon repatriation;
• Contribute to the refugee community pending a durable solution or repatriation (many graduates work in refugee camps, particularly as teachers and community workers);
• Facilitate integration, temporary or permanent, and contribute skills to the host country, if repatriation is not or not yet possible;
• Provide a role model for other refugee students, particularly for girls to advance their education and demonstrate benefits of education.