More students benefit from Basil Charles’ scholarships

Six students are now better able to fund their secondary education, as they have been awarded scholarships and bursaries by the Basil Charles Education Foundation (BEF).

On Wednesday, the Foundation handed over four full scholarships and two bursaries to students at Basil’s Bar in Kingstown.

The Basil Charles Educational Foundation was started in 1995 by Basil Charles. Since then, the BEF has helped 220 students, 140 through full scholarship and 80 through bursaries. Currently there are 26 students on the programme at various secondary schools throughout SVG.

The ceremony was chaired by social worker Karen Nero, who encouraged the recipients to always give of their best in their academics. Nero also stated that the Foundation has been setting a standard, where they are allowing parents the opportunity to be better able to afford secondary education for their children.

“Education now is like a competition; you have to work hard, you have to forget about the gadgets. You are ordinary children and I’m sure you can have extraordinary minds once you put your best into your school work.”

In 2010, the Foundation started an Early Childhood Programme, in collaboration with the Ministry of Mobilization and the Ministry of Education, in which they assist some 17 pre-schools in the country. Under this programme, the schools are given nutritional support, teachers and parents are given training in various areas and minor repairs are also done to some of the schools. Since the start of the programme, some 420 cots were distributed to the pre-schools.

Most of the funds used for the scholarships and bursaries come from the Blues Festival, put on by Basil Charles in Mustique and Bequia and also from private and corporate donors.

The scholarship recipients receive $1,600 for the school year and the bursary recipients get $600. The scholarships and bursaries are for five years of secondary school.

Scholarships were awarded to Zenol Gaymwes of Barrouallie, Earllando Henry of Mesopotamia, Sade Regisford of Greiggs and Karissa Moses of Pembroke. The bursary recipients are Traevern Penniston of Campden Park and Naima Simmons of Bequia.

The first recipient of the scholarship was Rosbert Humphrey, an employee of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank in the Currency Management Department.(JWC)