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The Country Director told us how these kids were selected, while one of the recipients told us how this scholarship will help her achieve her dreams.

Erica Clother Joseph, Country Director, Sponsorship Plus Program, Pathlight
"We had an application process for the primary school so if they were graduating out of standard six by June of this year, then they were eligible to apply. We looked at, our two main criteria are potential and need, and so students who had averages of about 80% or more for their last four years of primary school, they were eligible to apply and we also looked at the need of the family, so we collected parents' pay slips to kind of get an assessment of the need for the students and then we went through and select 50 of them. This year we had over 300 applicants so the selection process was very tough for us but ended up with 50 students, 15 in Belize City, 15 in Belmopan and 20 in Orange Walk. Now when it comes to the tertiary scholarships, those are for our students who are already in the program so we don't take public application for those so the students who are already in the program and they have performed well over their past four years in high school or would have done extremely well in their Associate Degree and they want to move ahead then we assess their performance and we consider giving them a scholarship to move ahead."

Jahel Smith, Scholarship Recipient
"I feel very happy and excited at the same time because now I have my future set and it's all planned out the way I expected it to be."

Courtney Menzies:
"What are planning to study?"

Jahel Smith, Scholarship Recipient
"I'm planning to study IT because I want to be an IT specialist when I get older."

Courtney Menzies:
"How do you feel towards Pathlight that they're able to help you in this way?"

Jahel Smith, Scholarship Recipient
"I feel very thankful, grateful, and happy that they could help me out with my journey."

Dr Louis Zabaneh, Minister of State, Ministry of Education
"It's not just the fact that they are getting opportunities to access, it's that Pathlight also gives an additional layer of support that has to do especially with what we're promoting in our curriculum reform, it has to do with attitudes and the values and also the development of skill because these kids also get opportunities to do project together and that builds their skills, applying the knowledge in the real world. So we are so grateful for the partnership that the Ministry of Education has with Pathlight, we're grateful for all those who support Pathlight financially, but Pathlight has a really great cadre of professionals, educators who have a lot of experience and they've come together to be able to support our young people in this very important way."