Conflict, displacement, economic hardship, discrimination, and sudden emergencies can interrupt years of education in a matter of days. For LGBTQIA+ and marginalized students, these pressures can be compounded by exclusion, family circumstances, insecurity, and limited access to financial support.
GEM’s Education Without Interruption initiative supports students at risk of losing access to their education during periods of crisis and hardship, helping them continue their studies and protect the futures they have worked to build.
Educational barriers are different for every student. Rather than using a one-size-fits-all model, GEM assesses individual circumstances and provides tailored support based on actual needs.
Assistance can help students cover essential costs such as tuition and re-registration fees, laptops and learning equipment, educational materials, transportation, connectivity, and other costs directly affecting their ability to continue their studies.
GEM has activated and expanded this approach during major emergencies. Following the February 2023 earthquakes affecting Syria and Türkiye, GEM incorporated education assistance into its broader recovery response.
Supported to Continue Their Higher Education
Through GEM’s Partners in Recovery program, 49 LGBTQIA+ students across Syria and Türkiye received tailored education assistance based on their individual needs, supporting costs such as tuition and re-registration, transportation, learning materials, and educational equipment.
The experience reinforced something central to GEM’s approach: recovery is not only about surviving the immediate crisis—it is also about protecting people’s ability to move forward.
For students, continuing education can restore routine, opportunity, independence, and a sense of future during periods of profound uncertainty.
The impact of educational support extends beyond paying a fee or purchasing a device. It can mean preventing someone from dropping out, reconnecting a displaced student with their studies, or giving a young person the tools they need to continue building their future.
As one student supported by GEM reflected:
“Your support was more than just an administrative action… it was a great source of hope for me.”
Another shared:
“My performance has never been better.”
Through Education Without Interruption, GEM works to ensure that crisis, displacement, discrimination, or economic hardship do not have to mean the end of someone’s education.
