Scholarships available for YWCA programmes
They call themselves the 20-Sumt’n Club, a group of young professionals who, working with the YWCA, are trying to promote positive change in the community. Their latest activity is to provide scholarships for two different educational programmes. Club President Roslyn Rowland came by News 5 to explain.
Roslyn Rowland, President, 20-Sumt’n Club
“The 20-Sumt’n Club right now our main focus is the Shawn McKoy-Gill Scholarship Programme that we’re trying to establish enough funds to have so that we can help to put two young girls through one of the two programmes from the YWCA; either the Primary School Examination Programme or the Skills Programme.”
Stewart Krohn
“Tell me a little something about those two programmes.”
Roslyn Rowland
“The Primary School Examination Programme is held yearly. What it is, is for girls who drop out of primary school or they did their Primary School Exam in standard six and they didn’t make it successfully so they weren’t accepted into a high school. They go to the YWCA for another school year and they do over that programme and at the end they re-sit the P.S.E. exams. So far about eighty percent of the girls who do this programme get accepted into another high school. The Skills Programme runs two years. That is to help the girls to develop themselves and to become competent enough to work in a skill such as cosmetology or hospitality. Right now we have girls, who most of them who graduate from the skills programme are working with people who have already established themselves in that area in the community.”
Stewart Krohn
“These things cost money. If you didn’t have a scholarship available, what would they cost?”
Roslyn Rowland
“The P.S.E. programme, tuition, books, would run you about five hundred dollars for the school year. The Skills Programme would run you between five to six hundred dollars over the course of the two year.”
Stewart Krohn
“So the scholarships are not insignificant. How can someone apply for either of these two scholarships?”
Roslyn Rowland
“They have to go to the YWCA building that’s corner St. Thomas St. and Freetown Road and pick up the application form. The application form is very simple, the scholarships are awarded based on need, so the person’s parent has to supply a letter of employment. And if the person’s parent of guardian isn’t working, then they go to the Income Tax Department and get an income statement which will verify that they don’t have an income, as well as two photographs.”
The scholarship fund is named in memory of Shawn McKoy-Gill, an active member of the YWCA, who died in February. Deadline for applications is August thirtieth.
