FAQs

The Organization

What is the meaning of "The Upper Room"?

"The Upper Room" is a special room which appears in the bible. It is the place of the last supper and the washing of the feet, two spiritually significant events. It is the place where the friends of Jesus gathered in an atmosphere of uncertainty but also where they received strength and hope. This room symbolizes a way of living and sharing in a community where people are ready to listen to each other`s doubts and questions and find hope, love and support in each other while also leaning on spiritual resources.

Who is part of The Upper Room?

The Upper Room is a big international family where everybody is welcome, no matter what ethnicity, religion or background people come from.

Where is The Upper Room located?

The two main bases of the work of The Upper Room are India and Austria. The Upper Room developed over time after the first camping retreat was held near Mumbai, India in 2016.

Is The Upper Room an officially registered organization?

Yes, since Summer 2019 The Upper Room is an officially registered organization in Austria.

Who founded The Upper Room?

Anson Samuel and Georg Schaberger founded this organization when they noticed their shared love and care for young people and their love for elaborating on questions of faith and life.

Are there also projects in Austria?

Yes, events throughout the year are mostly held in Austria. For the summer and winter holiday a small team usually travels to India to run projects there and keep in touch with the community. We also have webinars where we talk about themes such as interreligious dialogue, appreciation of religious pluralism, social action.

Empower & Enrich

Why Northeast India?

Since Anson was born in India and after working as a teacher in Northeast India he has a huge heart and deep understanding for the people living there. Georg´s love and care for India started to grow when he did one year of volunteer work at a school in Vijaywada. They both recognized the need in Northeast India for the local youth to be supported. The school system there provides many obstacles for teenagers to successfully pursue their education and teachers are sometimes not devoted. Especially in northeast India young people additionally face a lot of other problems concerning gangs, suppression or drugs from a very early age on. The Upper Room wants to bridge this gap in supporting students or school dropouts on their educational path and help them pass their final exams.

Who are the people The Upper Room supports?

The Upper Room supports young people who need support for education irrespective of their cultural and religious backgrounds. Ages vary from kindergarten to university graduates and post graduates.

Is there a center in northeast India?

Yes, a tuition center was pioneered in Jairampur in 2019, where girls and boys can live and get individual support during their studies.

How often do people get financial support and do they get the support directly?

Barring a few exceptions, the support reaches directly the schools or colleges where the student is enrolled. This is to ensure maximum transparency and efficiency. We are in touch with the institutions and the fees are sent monthly or annually.

Is The Upper Room in touch with the students on a regular basis?

Yes, an important part of the work is to create an environment where people feel heard and seen and develop good relationships with mutual trust. Furthermore, regular contact is also needed to oversee the progress of the studies and trying to help if they are facing any problems.

Is there someone living at the hostel with the youngsters?

Yes, there are two hostel wardens for the boys and girls, there is a resident teacher for doubt solving and solving the homework. There is also a quality control manager who takes care of the overall functioning of the hostels and also steps in when a teacher is absent.

How do you manage to oversee the project from afar?

The hostel has regular internet connection, so it is no problem to get in touch any time. Additionally, our project coordinators oversee the local project. If people are facing specific problem or if a need must be met it is reported also through them.

Who are the speaker of the camps and where are they from?

Almost all the speakers have some personal connection to our team, mostly brought to our projects through personal connections. Some of these friendships have existed for many years. Most speakers have a background of active ministry or commitment in the church and are highly educated in their fields of work, theology and ministry. They draw from years of experiences with working with young people and elaborating on ideas of faith and life. Some of them have even published books and are considered highly prominent even in the church around the world. Depending on the location of the camp, they come from different parts of India or Austria. For our camps in India they sometimes even travel from afar to participate (e.g. the Netherlands).

Do people have to be Christian in order to participate in the programs?

No, The Upper Room wants to create a space of diversity where people can express different thoughts and questions. Even though some of the talks and activities are based on christian ideas and values, people have personal freedom in our programs to participate in whatever they want. We also have many interreligious events like webinars and talks where exchange is encouraged.

How does The Upper Room get to know people to support?

- Personal visits to villages

- Proposals or suggestions from people on-ground and our project coordinators who know the families and their financial background.

- During a project in summer 2019 we were able to invite a lot of school dropouts to our camp "Job - where are you father". In the counselling sessions the youngsters attended we got to ask more about their situation, their families, problems at school, financial situation or why they had to drop out. We decide the next steps based on this information.

Does The Upper Room also pay for the teachers in the hostel?

Yes, the teachers get a monthly salary. We highly want to honor their work and set a standard for a good educational system where their work is valued and rewarded.

How much do the kids financially contribute to the programs?

Some in the hostel pay the whole amount, some get subsidies some parents contribute in form of food items. This depends on personal circumstances and has to be evaluated individually.

How many students are currently supported by The Upper Room?

Currently there are 11 girls and 11 boys living at the hostel. Apart from these kids, we have 9 girls and 11 boys between ages 4-24 that get financial support on a regular basis.

Future & Support

What is the vision for the future?

In the next yearswe will establish the tuition center in India even more. Trying to get proper equipment, housing for girls AND boys and enough students to participate. For sure there will be more camps and outreaches or workshops at different schools to develop life skills and empower people there. Music and Arts will stay an important means to convey these themes. The same is happening in Austria right now, where we want to do workshops and project at schools. The community is constantly growing which allows as to have a bigger audience for talks, presentations, camps or concerts in Austria. At the same time we try to also establish regular community gatherings in India to help the Upper Room family there to stay in touch.

Our latest project in Austria was the recording of the musical "Job- Where are you father?" that was written for a camp with school dropouts in 2019. The planned release of the CDs both English and German will be winter 2020/21.

Can I get back taxes if I donate for The Upper Room?

Yes. Our co-operation contract with Jugend eine Welt makes tax-deductible donations possible. For this, kindly donate to our specified bank account with the A/c Name: Jugend eine Welt - The Upper Room.

How much money does one student need per month?

The amount for students attending university is 60€ per month, including housing, food and fees for university.

How much money does one kid need per month?

A child needs roughly 20€ per month to afford housing, food and primary school fees.

For how long are students being supported?

We try to support people as long as needed but ensure that we only start supporting someone if we can guarantee to have the finances needed for the next 3 years.

Can I specify where my donation amount goes to?

Yes, and we will ensure it will reach this specific goal with minimal administrative costs.