Local News

Last Thursday the BNE Trust handed over a cheque of 40 thousand dollars to Restore Belize to assist in its I am Belize Scholarship Fund.  On hand to receive the cheque was Marie Munoz of Restore Belize who said the scholarship fund is geared towards assisting underprivileged students from Belize City.

MARIE MUNOZ

Restore Belize

“The I am Belize scholarship club has been in existence going for three years now and so we have had a family of students.  So far, we have over sixty students, consistently taking them up through the different grades.  It caters to high school students and so we have children, it is not based on excellence, it’s based on need and so we have children coming in and applying to us.  We try to make the process very simple, it’s not complicated at all, they apply and then we offer the scholarship.  It does not only include a full scholarship with tuition, we have provided shoes, school bags, books, it just depends on the needs of the children, as long as it’s related to education, we make the provision.”

Handing over the cheque was General Manager of the BNE Trust Sharon Ramclam.

SHARON RAMCLAM

General Manager

BNE Trust

“The discussion with Restore Belize and the Trust started a few months ago where we were looking at how we can support education in Belize.  One of the Trust’s primary focuses is supporting education in the country and so we thought that a partnership with Restore Belize would be a strategic way to support and invest in education in the country.  So, we decided to essentially adopt the sixty students that were, at the time in July, enrolled in the, I AM Belize scholarship program and our specific commitment were in the form of supporting financially the tuition cost, books, uniforms, supporting tutoring opportunities for the children, facilitating mentorship and internship for these students.  So our goal is to make sure that these sixty kids graduate from high school.”

Ramclam said there are certain conditions attached to the scholarship such as students maintaining a passing grade, open and maintain a savings account at one of the financial institutions and be a part of the scholarship club.

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