The Orange Foundation is once again supporting 19 young female students in France who are having difficulty financing their higher education.
This financial support is being provided alongside individual mentoring by experienced young professionals, put in place and overseen by the Frateli association.

In 2008, 16 girls were supported jointly by the Orange Foundation and by the young professionals involved in the Frateli association’s initiative. This year, 19 female students with financial difficulties are benefiting from this support.

The Orange Foundation’s study grants are aimed at girls who have achieved very good results in their secondary education, demonstrating a high level of motivation for their higher education and professional project.
These grants enable them to cover various costs, such as course fees or registration fees for competitive examinations, renting student rooms, buying university textbooks, or even their transport costs. These students span a wide range of programs, from preparatory classes for business or scientific schools to law, economics, medicine, agronomy and trade.

The commitment to helping these girls in France follows on naturally from the Orange Foundation’s actions to support the education of girls in the countries where the France Telecom Orange Group is present (Africa, Asia and Middle East). Above all, it aims to make it possible for these female students to continue developing their potential, accompanied by attentive young professionals, thanks to mentoring with Frateli. This organization supports high-potential students from low-income backgrounds through individual mentoring by an experienced young professional. This mentoring continues throughout their time in higher education through to the student’s professional integration.

The objectives with Frateli’s mentoring approach are to advise students on the method and organization for them to succeed in line with their goals, to support them and give them confidence at particularly stressful times, and to support them with their professional projects – more specifically helping them find an internship or job, or meet contacts within the business.

For Iman, a second-year preparatory class student at Lycée Buffon in Paris, mentored by Gabriel, a project leader from the SNCF: “This grant has enabled me to broaden the horizons for my projects. First of all, this grant has meant that I am able to live in a hostel, which has allowed me to work under better conditions and prevented me from getting tired due to transport times in particular. For instance, I no longer ask myself questions like "Can I afford to buy this book? Because it is expensive!" On top of that, I can allow myself to have bigger projects, because I have put part of this grant to one side, so I do not think I will have any real financial problems when I go to engineering school”.

For Marie-Louise, studying for a double degree at Sciences Po Paris and Université Paris 6, mentored by Peugeot-Citroën’s international HR coordinator: “Being awarded this grant is very important for me. It means that I am able to start my new year at Sciences Po and the University with my mind at ease. I plan to save part of this grant to go on an exchange year, which is compulsory for my course at Sciences Po, in order to cover housing, transport and food costs”.

For Sandra, in her second year of business preparatory classes at Lycée Jacques Decour in Paris, mentored by Anne-Sophie, VP marketing at J.P. Morgan: “This grant is a real godsend for me. An opportunity for me to study that I had hardly hoped for”.

at 7 pm on November 24, 2009, all the grant holders and their mentors as well as the teams from the Frateli association and the Orange Foundation will be brought together for a dedicated evening in order to discover these brilliant female students and the quality of commitment shown by Frateli’s mentors.
Please contact us if you would like to take part.