It is known that the youth vulnerable families, boarding schools, teenagers with special needs, often choose professional colleges rather than universities after their schools. According to the Education and Science department of Odessa administration, over 4000 children from the professional colleges are considered to be from the difficult or unprotected families. Most of them study in regional colleges of Odessa region.Hence, the experts of the Way Home Foundation addressed their view to the regional agricultural lyceums and colleges to invite them into the participation in the pilot educational program.In order to connect to the establishments, the Fund organized and held round tables in the local administrations of Berezіvka and Teplitsa, where the participants could discuss the further common steps and perspectives within the forthcoming pilot project. The participants were the representatives of the local power representatives, social workers of the region, educational institutions members.Tatiana Pilipenko, the head of the direction, noted that the project is aiming fo fill up the gap in self-sufficiency among the youth in need, from villages, who might face difficulties doing it by themselves. This can, in its turn, raise the economical rate of the regions, and develop its potential.The participants have discussed the criteria according to which the boys and girls will be chosen to participate in the project. The priority will be given to the internat children, orphants, adopted children and the teens from the family-type internats. The pilot courses will involve 40 teens into its activity. The participants also discussed what support these children will keep receiving after they graduate from the project.The coupses of the project will provide the children knowledge of agricultural business, innovations in agriculture. The children will study under the support of professional trainers and masters, farmers of different directions of the field.Apart from the professional skills the students will have a good apportunity to improve their social skills and communicational abilities. The children will live in the specially organized place of the Fund in Liebental settlement. The Libental farm of the Way Home Foundation together with a social dormitory for children and youth with the support of the Ursula Zindel-Hilti Foundation was established and has been operating in the Odessa region since 2016.The activity made possible through support provided by the U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID) through the USAID’s Agriculture Growing Rural Opportunities Activity (AGRO) implemented by Chemonics International.
