Students in St. Catherine Receive Scholarships from PAEF
By: , July 23, 2024
Photo: Garfield Angus
Custos of St. Catherine, Hon. Icylin M. Golding (centre, seated); Chairman of the Poverty Alleviation and Empowerment Foundation (PAEF), Devon Samuels (left), and Executive Director of the Foundation, Pauline Gregory-Lewis (right), with the 30 students in St. Catherine who were awarded scholarships worth $375,000 by the PAEF, at the Parish Office of the Social Development Commission, in Spanish Town, recently. Teachers and officials of the Foundation are also pictured.The Full Story
Thirty students from five primary schools in St. Catherine, who will be going to high schools in September, have been awarded scholarships worth $375,000 by the Poverty Alleviation and Empowerment Foundation (PAEF).
The scholarships were recently presented to the students at a ceremony, held at the Parish Office of the Social Development Commission (SDC), in Spanish Town.
Executive Director of the Foundation, Pauline Gregory-Lewis, said over the 10 years that the organisation has been working with communities and empowering students, generous donors have been completely committed to the group.
“The are ensuring that when the students are moving to high schools, there is something that we can do to help,” she said, while urging the recipients to maintain high performances.
“Do well, focus, make your parents proud, so that you can be successful,” Mrs. Gregory-Lewis told them.
For her part, Custos of St. Catherine, Hon. Icylin M. Golding, said the Foundation has been “remarkable” in its work, urging the students to do well with the scholarships.
“It is a decade of remarkable achievements in assisting the needy. A beacon of hope, with compassion for countless individuals, for persons facing hardships. The Foundation has been instrumental in transforming lives, so let us continue to stand in solidarity with the less fortunate, offering them not just handouts, but a hand upwards, to a brighter and more prosperous future,” the Custos said.
Principal of the McAuley Primary School, Claudia Byer, said her students have improved academically with the support that the organisation has provided to the institution.
“Since 2015, the PAEF has become a proven friend. They have provided substantive support to the school, especially to 150 students, and the staff and students are excited,” she said.
The objective of the PAEF is to help parents to keep their children in school and ensure that their education is uninterrupted.
The group has also been reaching out to the disabled community and children at the early-childhood and primary school levels through a breakfast programme and other support.