Thot
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Mission Statement
Thot is the Paris-based French language certifying school for refugees and asylum seekers who did not graduate from high school in their country. We created Thot school because we believe that equality begins with a dignified and rightful treatment for everyone. Each of us has studied at school with teachers and a monitoring framework, and this education has been sanctioned by certifications. As language is an important barrier to enter into a society, it has been our priority to create a place like Thot, a school that values the work of teachers and gives access to the diploma. The vast majority of asylum seekers in France have little or no education. We wanted to prioritize our work on these people, whose work capacity and willpower are strong, but whose educational support must be specific. Our mission is to support students so that they find their place in France and build their future.
About This Cause
Thot was created by 3 committed women in October 2015 who met on refugees camps in Paris. In spite of the refugees diverse nationalities and their disparate social backgrounds, one same question seemed to be on everyone's lips: «Where can we learn French?» We created Thot in order to offer a stable, specific and complete training for refugees and asylum seekers who did not reach a high school degree in their country. Thereby, we contribute to address this audience's needs in French as a Foreign Language (FFL). Thot was the Egyptian God that embodied the concept of Knowledge. His mission was to spread his knowledge, hence his invention of language. This symbol epitomizes our mission: to convey, through language, the possibility to all individuals to fulfill their potential, here in France. In French, Thot is also an acronym for Transmettre un Horizon à Tous («Provide a Horizon to All»). From April to May 2016, we did a crowdfunding on Ulule and gathered 66 000 € in 40 days thanks to 1153 donors, which allowed us to open the school with 4 classes of 4 distinct levels. Since we opened in June 2016, we have already trained 320 students, from 18 years old to 57 years old, originating from Afghanistan, Sudan, Chad, Eritrea, Tibet, etc. 87% of our students have graduated from French State degree DILF and DELF. Our goal is for our students to reach a good level of social autonomy and to become as fast as possible a part of the French economic system. This is why our 16-week sessions include : - 160 hours of French classes provided by trained, experienced and paid French teachers - 16 hours of professional orientation workshops, and individual follow up (2h/student) - a week of creative workshops (drama, singing, fine arts) - psychological, social and legal support. At this point, we are at the end of our 6th training session and we have 6 classes and 90 students per session. Next training session starts in November 2018 and we will open a seventh class, bringing our number of students to 105. Our work has also been recognized by one of the most prestigious French funds: La France s’engage, which was created by former President François Hollande in order to encourage and support social and solidarity economy projects chosen for their innovation and social utility. We now have a full team with 1 President in charge of the legal, administrative and financial managing, 1 Executive Officer, 1 head of school, 1 head of pedagogy, 5 teachers, 1 professional orientation expert, 1 therapist, 1 immigration lawyer, 4 artists and 40 volunteers.