And, shifting gears to much happier news.
The start of the next school year is only a few weeks away, and 26 students from several different districts are going to get their education sponsored by the local Beverage giant, Bowen and Bowen Limited.
It's the continuation of their Bowen and Bowen Dependent Scholarship program. The idea is that the company provides financial aid to the children of their 1200 employees, easing the burden of these parents, and providing the students with the best opportunity to keep studying. These dependents are invited to apply, and like any other scholarship program, the recipients are chosen based on their academic performance, and their need.
This year, 42 applied, but Bowen and Bowen could only select 26. That is the biggest cohort of recipients since the program began back in 2015, and today, the company held an award ceremony to honor the new awardees. Here's what the company's public relations coordinator had to say about the selection process:
John Palacio - Public Relations Coordinator, B&B
"This was actually our biggest intake so far, especially over the 5 [years]. What we were looking for ideal was 10 for technical, 10 for high school, and 10 for the tertiary level. But while only received 1 for vocational, we said, why not push the others when it comes to high school and tertiary level. And that's the reason why we have 13 high schools, and 12 for the tertiary level for this year."
Reporter
"Now, the interesting thing with this is that it's the children of the families who work here. Talk to us about that."
John Palacio
"For Bowen and Bowen, we've got over 1200 employees, the largest private entity in the country in terms of employees. So, we decided when it comes to a lot of things, we prefer to do it in house. The reason for that is why not help each other?"
Michael Bowen - President/CEO, B&B
"Today, we're helping [to] open the doorway to the future. It's a day when we're awarding Bowen and Bowen scholarships to employees who demonstrated enthusiasm for education, and optimism for the future. We began this Bowen and Bowen Scholarship program back in 2015, and since then, we've awarded 109 scholarships, and over a half a million dollars in scholarships. As parents, it's our responsibility to encourage our children to excel in academics, and looking around this room, I can say that all these students are very lucky to have parents that support them."
Hon. Patrick Faber - Minister of Education
"I wish to begin this morning by placing on record the Government and people's gratitude to Bowen and Bowen, for the many contributions that they have made in the past, but also continue to make towards Belize's education system, and by extension, Belize development overall. I want to urge you, who are these scholarships this morning, to make sure that you do your best with the opportunity that is being given to you. And, I want you to realize that this is an offering that is made to you that in fact, some others in this country are not going to get. Despite the fact that we try so hard, from many angles to ensure - we have church groups; we have the government; we have the corporate citizens; we have other countries helping - still not enough to cover all the needs in our country. So, you are in a unique position. You are in a position that many others will not get."
Ivanne Cano - B&B Star Scholar
"Four years ago, due to my family's circumstances, looking for an opportunity, I applied for a scholarship, so that I could attend high school. The year 2015 was a struggle for us because my mom had undergone surgery, which was a life or death situation. At that point in time, we had a financial crisis that affected us gradually. During my first year of high school, unfortunately, I was denied scholarships from the multiple forms that I applied. Each door I went knocking on was closed. Only 1 door opened. It was the B&B dependents scholarship program. After being uncertain in proceeding with my education, now, I'm a proud high school graduate and this year's star scholar to the Bowen and Bowen Dependents Scholarship Program."
As you heard, the total value of the scholarships for this year's recipients is $139,000.
Email
Print