Educating the slums

21 YEARS. ONE PROMISE. GENERATIONS CHANGED. 
What an extraordinary October for the Maria Cristina Foundation!
 Mehedi: From the slums of Dhaka to university in Malaysia, the first male in his family, 21 years after joining our programme.
 Salma: Graduated in Chemical Engineering in Portugal on 3 October and has already completed her first six months of a Master's degree!
 Mehdi & Ali: Two young men from the remote mountain village of Hushe, Pakistan, beginning their Master's degrees in Portugal.
 Jhui: Just 16 years old, starting her university Foundation course in Dubai on a 100% scholarship!
Five young people. Four extraordinary milestones. Twenty-one years of dreams becoming reality.
COVID-19 and years of severe funding shortages created relentless headwinds, setting our students back years. At times, simply keeping our heads above water took everything we had.
But we never gave up on the children counting on us.
To our incredible sponsors, past and present:
You could have chosen from countless organisations around the world.
But you chose us. And look what your belief has made possible.
These milestones belong to you too. Your support has helped turn opportunities into achievements and dreams into futures.
The greatest return on investment isn't measured in sponsorship. It's measured in lives changed and generations transformed.
These young people may never meet everyone who believed in them.
But their futures will forever carry the fingerprints of your kindness. 
21 years later, our promise lives on.