The Santa Clarita Valley International Program was organized in 1991 in an effort to help students from other countries gain a college education in the United States.  All three students who came from the Soviet Union that year finished degrees, one at College of the Canyons, another at COC and San Francisco State, and a third at USC and Harvard Business School.

As the efforts of the Board of Directors turned to developing a Sister City program for the City of Santa Clarita, the scholarship program languished.

However, in the early 1990s Healing the Children California began to bring children to the U.S. for medical treatment.  Many of these children are now finishing secondary school in their own countries, and a few, who come from the poorest families, need a real boost if they are to be able to go on to university, become professionals, and break the cycle of poverty.

The Board has already approved applications on behalf of Karol from Colombia, Ira and Marina from Kazakhstan, and Ninfa from Nicaragua.  Their futures are dependent upon funding of their scholarships.

Karol is the youngest of five children of a cobbler who has been kept in school through contributions from her host family. 

Ira and Marina are Russian twins from northeastern Kazakhstan who came to Santa Clarita seven years ago, and returned home after having open-heart surgery.  Since then they have been mentored by Peace Corps workers and have learned to speak English fluently.  They would like to return to Santa Clarita to study at College of the Canyons, and need help with part of the tuition cost.

Ninfa’s family scrapes a living in rural Nicaragua; as she has been to the U.S. repeatedly for burn surgeries she speaks English well, and she hopes to study tourism and community development at UNAN in Esteli.  They are all exceptional students.

The remarkable thing is that a total of $5000 or $10,000 will secure a complete university education.

Contributions can be made to the Santa Clarita Valley International Program, Inc., and mailed to 23920 Valencia Boulevard, Suite 300, Santa Clarita, California 91355-2196.  This is a tax-deductible organization. 

Tax ID #  95-4425541