"A generous and important program that enables bright students to receive an excellent education."
-- AUIS President Bruce Walker Ferguson
The Brighter Future Arbat Refugee Fund is a scholarship fund that helps students from Arbat Refugee Camp pursue their studies at American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS) after their 12th grade graduation.
The scholarship is funded by generous individuals and corporations from the U.S., France, and Iraq. This fund was established by Ms. Florence Robichon and her husband Mr. Rachid Benyakhlef. Ms. Robichon initiated the scholarship after spending more than one year as a volunteer painting murals in Arbat Refugee Camp, where she realized how much young students there were in need of support for their higher education.
The scholarship is designed to finance a full cycle of up to five years of study towards a bachelor's degree at AUIS, including one year of intensive English language instruction. It finances tuition, shared housing, books, University fees and expenses, and annual travel to and from Arbat Refugee Camp, for fall and spring terms. It also covers winter and summer courses that progress a student toward graduation but does not have a living stipend.