TWENTY-TWO primary and secondary school students from various schools received scholarships from the Daren Sammy Foundation (DSF) this week for their outstanding performance during the 2022/2023 academic year.
According to the Executive Director of the Foundation, Francillia Austin, the DSF is “excited to be back partnering with Republic Bank (through their Power to Make a Difference programme) for the eighth installment.”
Republic Bank, on its website, noted that “we firmly believe that we must help struggling communities enhance the quality of life for themselves; we also encourage these communities to build a system of ethics that will endure. We achieve these objectives through Our Power to Make a Difference programme (PMAD). PMAD focuses on three specific areas:
– Development of young people through education, sport and the arts;
– Poverty alleviation through training programmes for at-risk youth and the provision of facilities for elderly community members;
– Helping differently-abled persons and groups find their place in the world. We provide training and physical facilities to help them become more self-sufficient and to contribute to society more effectively.”
Throughout the years, Austin told reporters, the DSF has “been able to impact so many families and we’re just humbled and honoured to have the opportunity to allow students to reach their full potential. We’re giving academic scholarships to underprivileged families across the island.”
Sports Minister Kenson Casimir told students that “these sorts of gatherings are very nostalgic for me simply because I started my athletic journey on a national level at the age of eight.”
“At a very early age I understood having to fight through obstacles. During that time, I only had one pair of shoes and I used it to go to school, I used it for cricket, football, basketball (and) volleyball. I say this to you to let you know that there was no Daren Sammy Foundation during that time. There weren’t many organized persons like Daren Sammy who understood that we needed to invest in our young people,” Casimir added.
To be eligible for the scholarship, students must meet a criteria, Austin said.
Students must be between the ages of nine and seventeen, Saint Lucian, and “would need to have regular attendance at school, but most importantly need a minimum pass average of 75 percent for each term. These grades and reference information is submitted with your application.”
“We go through the vetting process and once you are selected we then have a ceremony like what we’re doing today to be able to award the recipients. We give $2000.00 to secondary school students and $1000.00 to primary school students,” Austin added.
The awards ceremony was held at the Finance Administrative Centre on Thursday.