For many families, August marks the beginning of another school year. Students return to the classroom with excitement about what lies ahead, while parents settle back into familiar routines.
For Christian families in the Holy Land, the start of a new school year often brings a different kind of anticipation.
As classes approach, many parents are not wondering whether they have finished shopping for school supplies. They are wondering whether they can afford tuition. Some are hoping enough work will come their way before the semester begins. Others are searching for a way to keep their child’s education from coming to an unexpected end.
The uncertainty continues long after high school. For many university students, higher education depends on whether their family can overcome financial challenges made worse by declining tourism and ongoing instability in the region. Unlike many students in the United States, young adults in the Holy Land often have few alternatives when tuition is beyond their family’s reach.
For these students, education is about more than earning a degree. It represents the opportunity to build a future in the place where Christianity was born.
That opportunity has become increasingly difficult to reach.
Over the past several years, many Christian families have seen their livelihoods disappear as pilgrimages declined and economic conditions worsened. Without a university education, stable employment becomes much harder to find. For some young adults, that leaves a painful choice: leave the Holy Land in search of opportunity or remain without a clear path forward.
Recognizing this need, the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land established its University Scholarship Program in 1997. By providing four-year scholarships that cover tuition and books, the Foundation helps economically disadvantaged Christian students pursue a university education that might otherwise remain beyond their reach.
One Scholarship Can Change an Entire Community
Behind every scholarship is a student with the talent to succeed and a family hoping that education will open the door to a brighter future.
That was true for Nassim Soufan.
Growing up in Jerusalem, Nassim dreamed of becoming a pharmacist. He worked hard in school and earned acceptance into a university program, but paying for his education presented a significant challenge. Through the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land’s University Scholarship Program, he received the support he needed to continue his studies.
Today, Nassim owns and operates Soufan Pharmacy in Jerusalem, serving patients in the community where he grew up. Years after receiving his scholarship, the investment made in one student continues to benefit countless others. Every person who walks through his doors is part of the lasting impact of that opportunity.
His story is one of hundreds made possible through the Foundation’s scholarship program.
Since 1997, the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land has helped Christian students earn university degrees and establish careers in the communities they call home. Those graduates have become professionals who care for their neighbors, strengthen local institutions and contribute to the future of Christian life in the Holy Land.
The impact of a scholarship extends well beyond graduation. It gives a young adult the opportunity to pursue a profession that might otherwise remain out of reach. It also provides families with renewed confidence that the next generation can build a future without leaving the place they have called home for centuries.
Every scholarship becomes an investment in more than one student. It is an investment in the future of Christianity in the Holy Land.
Investing in the Next Generation
This fall, another group of Christian students will begin preparing for university with the same hopes shared by students around the world. They have worked hard to reach this point. Now they need the opportunity to continue.
That need inspired the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land’s 800 Scholarships for 800 Years campaign, launched in celebration of the 800th Jubilee of St. Francis.
The campaign reflects a simple belief: when Christian students have access to higher education, they are better equipped to build their lives in the Holy Land. As they establish careers and raise families, they help strengthen the Christian communities that have preserved the faith for generations.
Thanks to the generosity of donors, 738 scholarships have already been funded. Only 62 scholarships remain to reach this historic goal. Every scholarship awarded represents another student who can continue an education instead of putting those dreams on hold.
The campaign honors the legacy of St. Francis by investing in the Living Stones of today. Those students will become tomorrow’s teachers, healthcare providers, entrepreneurs and community leaders, carrying the Christian presence in the Holy Land into the future.
Help Build the Next Generation
Every school year begins with hope.
For Christian families in the Holy Land, that hope often depends on whether higher education remains within reach.
For nearly three decades, the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land has partnered with generous supporters who understand that investing in education also strengthens Christian communities. Each scholarship helps a student pursue a future that might otherwise seem impossible while reinforcing the Christian presence in the land where our faith began.
As another school year begins, your generosity gives Christian students the opportunity to build their future in the Holy Land. That investment helps preserve a living Christian presence in the place where Christ lived, died, and rose again.
