Since 2010 additional finance aid is collected in Germany by the Student Initiative Rahel to increase the possible number of scholarships given by the OVC project. The Student Initiative Rahel is a student project of the Institute for World Church and Mission which is a part of the Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology in Frankfurt-Sachsenhausen. The project is funded mainly by current and former students at the university. The initiative was named after the AIDS orphan Rahel Hailay, one of the first students who were granted a scholarship. She studied biology and zoology at the universities in Axum and Mek'ele from 2009 to 2014. Due to personnel fluctuation among students at the Sankt GeorgenGraduate School of Philosophy and Theology, the project has been phasing out slowly since the end of 2017. The tasks of the support are gradually taken over by the Adigrat Diocesan Catholic Secretariat and former graduates in Ethiopia.
Realisation
Both projects are connected through the support of the Pontifical Mission Societies in all financial matters, such as account management, the administrative costs, or the transfer of money to Ethiopia. In Ethiopia the Student Initiative Rahel is supervised locally by the Adigrat Diocesan Catholic Secretariat of the Ethiopian Catholic Eparchy of Adigrat under the patronage of the diocesan bishop Tesfay Medhin within the framework of the OVC project. The OVC project is active in the areas of Adigrat and other areas particularly affected by poverty. The project manager of the ADCS Woldemariam Besirat selects the scholarship holders. The nonprofit organization supports with a scholarship youths – mostly young women – in Adigrat in the north of Ethiopia who are disadvantaged for various reasons, and accompanies them financially and ideally during their studies at a university or other education. It is largely funded by donations and organizes religious education workshops, scholarship meetings, and external lecturers on topics such as AIDS, the consequences of emigration as refugees, or on other medical or ethical issues. In addition to financial support, the promotion of self-reliance, self-confidence, and self-esteem,... the promotion of self-responsibility, the awareness of responsibility and the ability to work together are important aspects of the work of the OVC project.
