130 students to benefit from Soufriere Foundation Scholarships Programme
Over the next three weeks EC$140,000 worth of scholarships will be provided to deserving residents of Soufriere. This amount marks the highest amount ever spent by the organization on its scholarships programme which begun in 2005. The scholarship programme which has traditionally focused on funding students of the primary, secondary and tertiary schools within St. Lucia will be expanded this year to assist students from Soufriere attempting to pursue a university education within the region.
Eusebia Jn. Baptiste, Scholarships Coordinator, believes that the programme is creating a difference in the lives of the beneficiaries and their parents by reducing their need to worry over financing. “Under the programme beneficiaries are provided with books which they are expected to return at the end of the school year and to have maintained an average performance of over 50%, to qualify for re-engagement.” Ms. Jn. Baptiste goes on to say, “Our scholarships programme continues to generate a lot of interest. During the last two weeks the organization received over 250 applications from residents of the community. All successful applicants from that batch will be informed by mid August.”
“The development of the human resources of our community is a key area of focus for the Soufriere Foundation”, says Scholarships Committee Chairman, Gregor Williams. “As a consequence, a large percentage of our programme’s budget is dedicated to improving that resource. This year we want to do more than the traditional and work with the District Education Office and the schools to identify and fund possible solutions to the under-performance of the district, which includes Canaries, at the annual Common Entrance Exams.”
Besides its scholarships programme the Soufriere Foundation organizes and implements many human resource development initiatives, yearly. Over the last few years, the organization has funded several youth summer camps, runs a tertiary education and trades fair, offers tertiary level education at a subsidized cost and offers skills based training to interested residents. The organization has partnered with several major players and will from August be running training in key areas such as fish preparation, plumbing and bartending, inter alia.
