More help needed
published: Wednesday | May 5, 2004

THE EDITOR, Sir:

I WISH to respond in agreement to Heather Robinson's article "How poor is poor", where she invites companies to support a notable high achiever for the remainder of her medical pursuits at the UWI Mona. There are not many individuals in Jamaica who are able to fund a medical school degree and quite a lot of students have done so only by scholarship grants and amassing a whopping Student Loan.

However, as she points out, this is only a drop in the bucket as boarding fee (if you have nowhere to stay in Kingston), books, aids, food, etc., form a significant part of the yearly expenditure. Few companies are willing to fully assist with complete scholarships due to the cost. There also has not been overwhelming sympathy for tertiary education in some sectors, often headed by persons who received their education at the UWI almost or totally free of cost.

Nevertheless, there are still a few companies that offer yearly stipends to which this young lady can apply (hoping she can get it along with her tuition from SLB). Of course, there is need for other contributors to come on board and I am hoping corporate Jamaica will assist her, especially with her need and good grades.

I am, etc.,

ROMAYNE EDWARDS

glamarous00@yahoo.com

Kingston8

Via Go-Jamaica