Providing University Opportunities for Students in Brazil

Access to quality education is essential for raising the standard of living from one generation to the next. Even though higher education exists in many places, many students do not have access to it because of economic and cultural limitations. As in many other countries, historic racial discrimination has left black Brazilians with fewer educational and professional opportunities than those available to white Brazilians.

Through collaboration with Centro de Integração Empresa-Escola, the Monsanto Fund is helping increase opportunities for Brazilians of African heritage. Since 2001, the Monsanto Fund has paid $255,000 to the program to sponsor the university studies of students from families with limited income in the states of São Paulo and Bahia. In 2005, we awarded an additional $240,000 grant, benefiting 21 students. Approximately one-third of these students are pursuing degrees and careers in the sciences.

Participating students receive the equivalent of $260 US a month to pay for school supplies, transportation, food, and courses in a second language. In addition, the program provides students with professional information and orientation. It also offers them the opportunity to join private and public organizations as interns. To be eligible, students must be regularly enrolled in a university or college and unable to afford its tuition and related expenses. Participants are encouraged to excel through regular counseling and performance reviews.

Students also receive computer training and they participate in workshops to learn about the demands of the labor market. The program helps them choose courses of study that are both personally intriguing and likely to lead to a successful professional life.

$495,000
Since 2001, the Monsanto Fund has awarded $495,000 to the program to sponsor the university studies of 41 students from families with limited incomes in the states of São Paulo and Bahia.