Starting from academic year 2015/16, Citadele bank, in cooperation with Vītols Foundation, launches a higher education scholarship program for young people with disability.
Currently people with disability are a rarity among higher education students therefore the aim of Citadele banka's scholarship is to expand the opportunities for young people with disability to acquire higher education through granting scholarships for several young people every academic year.
Guntis Beļavskis, CEO of Citadele Banka, "The 'You are. You can.' movement for sportsmen with disability that we launched a couple of years ago helped us identify new talents. It also inspired people with disability to be courageous: to go out, engage in sports, experience new emotions, make new friends, and even achieve great success in sports and participate in Paralympics. We wish that Citadele's scholarship will inspire and encourage young people to study and achieve their goals. With Citadele's financial support, we will contribute to expanding the opportunities for young people with disability to acquire higher education."
Vilis Vītols, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Vītols Foundation, "It has been said countless times that the safest way to improve a separate person's and simultaneously the entire country's welfare is education. Therefore, education is the place where charitable funds generate the most valuable results. Citadele banka has added another dimension to charity: helping young people with disability, the people towards whom fate has been less favourable. The bank's management will be glad to meet its stipendiaries later on and learn about how they are doing with their studies. These young people are the genuine reward for what we invest in charity."
Currently, 5463 young people aged between 17 and 25 are classified as individuals with category III disability, 5694 young people are classified as individuals with category II disability, and 2112 young people are classified as individuals with category II disability according to the statistics of State Medical Commission for the Assessment of Health Condition and Working Ability as of 1 January 2015.
Ivars Balodis, Chairman of Apeirons, NGO for people with disabilities and their friends, "If a young individual with disability gets as far as higher education studies, that is a great accomplishment itself because it takes courage and persistence. It also means that this individual has acquired general education and is preparing for the next step. This is not easy because, just like in all other areas of life in Latvia, people with disability face obstacles in education. During summer, we receive several calls from those who wish to study, and they inquire about where they could acquire higher education, what is the aid granted by municipalities and the state, and whether any scholarships are available? Even this type of information is not easily accessible, but it should be there. For this reason, all initiatives that can help young people with disability acquire higher education are welcome and deserve support. Somebody must do it, right?"
First scholarship recipients inspire to achieve goals
Citadele banka's scholarships will be granted to three young people for the new academic year.
Viktorija Verhovceva from Mārupe knows what health problems are about therefore she has studied hard to bring her dream of studying medicine to life in order to help other people. Viktorija achieved strong results in biology contests, and she has proven organizational skills from the time she served as her school's student government president.
Elīna Ģērmane from Riga is already a student of the Modern Languages and Business Program at University of Latvia where she is studying French and English. Citadele banka's scholarship will enable Elīna to become independent. Elīna is very goal-oriented which is evidenced by her achievements in German and Latvian language contests.
Oskars Niks Mālnieks from Ape has decided to study economy and finances. Oskars has acquired achievements in various regional and state level contests. He is actively engaged in improvisation theatre; he also sings in a choir and plays the guitar. Oskars previously served as the Head of Madona District Youth Council Finance and Projects Department thus taking active part in youth self-initiative projects.
Scholarship recipients for academic year 2015/16 were selected from the applications submitted to Vītols Foundation in the previous application round. To sign up for our scholarship, please follow the information provided on Vītols Foundation's websitewww.vitolufonds.lv.
About receiving Citadele banka's scholarship
The scholarship for the academic year is 1850 euros, and Vītols Foundation will disburse it in equal payments from September to June. Good grades are an important precondition for starting and continuing to receive the scholarship because the recipients must submit reports on successfully completed semesters twice a year.
To be eligible for the scholarship, candidates must meet the criteria determined by Vītols Foundation:
- Good grades (average grade must be 7.5 or higher);
- Orphan, raised by one parent or coming from a large family;
- Achievements in study contests.
The bank's criteria is to support young people with disability.