Help Mina Reach UWC Armenia & Change Her Future!

Hello,

I am Boum, a Lao graduate of UWC Mahindra College in India, and I’m honored to support Mina, my fellow UWC Laos scholar, in her journey to UWC. As someone who’s experienced the power of a UWC education, I can confidently say Mina is one of the most promising young women I’ve encountered. Her resilience, compassion, and unwavering dedication to education inspire everyone around her. She’s already making a difference in her community, and with your support, no matter how big or small, would change her life forever.

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Hello, my name is Mina Lorvanheuang, a 17-year-old student from Laos with a dream and an incredible opportunity, but I need your help to make it happen.

I've been awarded a life-changing scholarship to attend United World Colleges (UWC) Dilijan in Armenia for the next two years! UWC brings together students from all over the world to learn, grow, and become leaders committed to peace and sustainability. This is exactly the kind of transformative education I've always dreamed of.

However, there's a hurdle: While the scholarship covers tuition and boarding, I urgently need to raise $3,500 USD to cover the essential additional costs of:

Travel (Round-trip flight tickets from Vientiane, Laos to Yerevan, Armenia e.g. transiting through Bangkok and Doha) = $2,500 - $2,700.

Armenia Residence Permit fees for two years = $600 - $700.

Required vaccination fees = $160.

I was raised in one of the most economically challenged communities in Laos, where each day required resilience. In my community, it's common for people my age to already be married and raising families, but I believe in the power of education. My mother, a single mom, became the pillar of our family, working tirelessly as a garbage collector, collecting and selling recyclable cans and bottles to support me and my younger brother. We often had just enough to survive, but never enough to live comfortably.

Growing up in a home where every bottle meant food, I learned early the worth of hard work and dignity. My mother’s grace in adversity taught me that no labor is small when done with love. Her life motivated me to strive for education and give back. I began volunteering at the age of 12 to support environmental causes, children’s learning and raise youth awareness about family planning and sexual health. These efforts weren’t just activities, they were reflections of my roots, gratitude, and hope for change.

Even though my mom worries about how we’ll afford a UWC education, I don’t want to give up. She’s encouraged me to stop here and start working to support the family. But education is my biggest hope and I want to use it to bring hope back to my family and my community. Through UWC, I found both purpose and drive—to use education not just to rise above poverty, but to lift others with me. UWC will give me the strength to dream and I’m determined to turn those dreams into action.

This scholarship is a miracle, but without covering these essential travel and setup costs, I cannot go. It’s already my second time applying to UWC and I am graduating high school in Laos this year, so if I cannot go to UWC this year, I will not be able to experience UWC again in my life.

This is where you come in.

I am humbly asking for your support to raise $3,500. Your contribution, no matter the size, will directly fund the travel, visa and vaccinations I need to take up my place at UWC Dilijan this year.

Investing in my education is an investment in a future leader committed to positive change in Laos and beyond. I am determined to make the most of this UWC opportunity, excel in my studies, and return empowered to tackle the challenges in my community, from health education to environmental protection.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story and for considering supporting my journey. Together, we can turn this dream into reality.

With immense hope and gratitude,

Mina Lorvanheuang