The Titian Foundation scholarship programme aims to improve the quality of life of its student beneficiaries by empowering them with access to education. Aside from providing financial assistance, mentoring activities like character building for the direct beneficiaries, it also includea giving counselling to help parents create a conducive environment at own home to allow their student to evolve. One way of achieving this is through the mechanism of Parent Meetings.

For previous parent meetings, the sessions were arranged seminar-style, with specific topics. This year it was done differently. The meeting between our scholarship facilitators and the beneficiary parents/guardians were carried out in stages, to give time for two-way communication and more intimate discussions. The meeting for parents of Grade XI (Generation 11) students was held on November 12th and 13th and Grade X (Generation 12) on Tuesday and Wednesday 19th and 20th November. In these meetings, the scholarship facilitator explained all the activities that have been conducted with the students and an outline of how students have progressed. What followed was a discussion about how the students had progressed at home and any difficulties the patents had in guiding the students. In general parents saw a positive development in their children at home after they had participated in Titian activities. The students were more independent and responsible, but what still needs improvement is time management, setting priorities and emotional control.

For Grade XII (Generation 10) students, the parent meeting was held as one session on Thursday, November 21st. The topic of this meeting was preparing students after graduating general high school/vocational school, either subsequently pursuing tertiary education or joining the workforce. Parents are encouraged to support their children’s aspirations and still be receptive when their children experience failure. A testimony from a parent of Titian Foundation scholarship alumni from Generation 3, who nonetheless lives in financial limitations as a pedicab driver, said he gave full support to his daughter when she wanted to move to Jakarta and study Tourism in college and his daughter even got a double degree as a result of the collaboration programme with a university in Thailand. Another speaker in this session is a private university Lecturer of 19 years. She gave an overview about college life and the support needed by their children during those college years.

Teamwork and synergy are continuously being worked on so that the Titian programme can help its beneficiaries cross the bridge to a better quality of life. (FD)