A Bright Ray of Hope: The Perpetual Education Fund

The Perpetual Education Fund

In the mid-1800's, all of my ancestors who were living at that time emigrated to Utah from England and Denmark or moved west from other places in America to gather with the Latter-day Saints in the Salt Lake Valley.  Many Mormon pioneers were only able to afford to travel to Utah because of the Perpetual Emigration Fund. Those who were already in Utah donated to the fund to help pay the travel costs of others who wanted to come. Then when they got to Utah and got themselves established, they would  then pay back the funds they had received into the Perpetual Emigration Fund to help others gather with the Saints.

In 2001, Gordon B. Hinckley (the 15th prophet of the Church) established a new fund patterned after the old Perpetual Emigration Fund and called it the Perpetual Education Fund.

The Perpetual Education Fund (PEF) has been established to provide young adults of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who live in developing countries with the support and resources necessary to improve their lives through education and better employment to better serve their family, the Church, and their community. (See pef.lds.org)

Members and friends of the Church around the world are invited to donate to this fund for the benefit of those in developing countries who are in need of assistance for their education. The investment interest on this fund is used to support education; so the fund's corpus  is constantly growing as donations are made.

Here in the poorest country on earth, the PEF is now starting to benefit those who are striving to further their education. This week we met the senior couple who administers this program here in DR Congo.

After being  referred by the bishop of his or her local congregation, a young adult is invited to take a one month course entitled, "Planning For Success." This course helps them to set goals and make decisions about education and also teaches proper budgeting principles. Next the young adults meet with the missionary couple to apply online to the program. Most educational programs are 1 to 3 years in length. DR Congo PEF students have taken computer courses, accounting, and even pastry making. The cost of these programs range from $350-$1200 for the entire course of study in this country. Once approved, the tuition is always paid from the PEF fund directly to the school, even if the missionary couple has to drive the money over to the school. While the student is going through the program, he or she is asked to  start repaying a small amount back every month. (In DR Congo, that amount is $5 per month.) At the end of the course of study, a repayment plan is set up with the payback being made in small installments over up to 8 years. The investment proceeds on the loans that are repaid is then available for other students to use, thus it is indeed a PERPETUAL education fund.

This program now has about 160 beneficiaries here in Kinshasa (and thousands worldwide) and will continue to grow over time. What a great way to help these wonderful young people gain valuable skills that will give them the ability to support themselves and their families.