On November 7, at the University of the West Indies Regional Headquarters in Jamaica,
CCRIF SPC announced the award of 11 scholarships totalling US$80,000 for students pursuing postgraduate and undergraduate studies in areas related to comprehensive disaster risk management (CDRM) for academic year 2023/24 at Caribbean universities.
Since the inception of the CCRIF SPC Scholarship Programme in 2010, CCRIC has provided 176 scholarships totaling US$1.8 million to Caribbean nationals for study at regional and national universities in the Caribbean, as well as universities in the USA and the UK.
The award ceremony represented a celebration of scholarship and success and was a testament to the role that CCRIF is playing in investing in and nurturing a talent pool of youth in the areas of CDRM.
CCRIF Board Member, Saundra Bailey, in her remarks, said, “To our scholars, congratulations. We are proud of the decisions we have made in choosing you as CCRIF scholars. You are our future and the future we want is based on the decisions we make today. Use this opportunity to define your success and shape your future and that of your country and be an agent of change”.
Also in attendance were representatives of The University of the West Indies, with which CCRIF SPC has had a partnership since 2010. These included among others: Ms. Sandrea Maynard, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Office of Global Affairs; Dr. Maurice Smith, University Registrar; Prof. Aldrie Henry-Lee, Pro Vice-Chancellor Postgraduate Studies; Prof. Michael Taylor, Dean of Faculty of Science and Technology; Dr. David McBean, Director of the Mona School of Business and Management, among others. Professors of the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech), including Prof. Carol Archer, the Graduate Centre Coordinator for the Faculty of the Built Environment, also attended the event, as UTech also has a student receiving an award this year.
The recipients of the CCRIF postgraduate and undergraduate scholarships for 2023 are as follows:
Postgraduate scholarships at The University of the West Indies
- Patrick Burke (Jamaican) – M.Sc. Enterprise Risk Management
- Toni Ann Hendricks (Jamaican) – MPhil Environmental Management
- La Ferne Henry (Jamaican) – M.Sc. Enterprise Risk Management
- Fayola Thompson (Trinidadian) – MPhil Seismology
- Ameika Turner (Jamaican) – M.Sc. Natural Resource Management
- Postgraduate scholarship at the University of Technology, Jamaica
- Natola Watt (Jamaican) – M.Sc. Built Environment
Undergraduate scholarships at The University of the West Indies
- Jabari Aberdeen-Mc Kell (Trinidadian) – B.Sc. Geology, Minor in Renewable Energy
Management - Yasser Charaf (Belizean) – B.Sc. Civil Engineering
- Rhyana Dupigny (Barbadian) – B.Sc. Environmental Science
- Adam Loutan (Trinidadian) – B.Sc. Geography and Environmental and Natural Resource
Management - Malakai Williams (Jamaican) – B.Sc. Geology
The CCRIF undergraduate and postgraduate scholarship programmes are available to all
CARICOM and CCRIF member countries in the Caribbean.
One of the recipients of a postgraduate award, Patrick Burke, a former ward of the state had this to say about his accomplishment: “For me the route to getting a bachelor’s
degree has not been an easy one or a direct route. I have been a ward of the state for 17 years and as such the journey was difficult and sometimes unbearable. Being faced with
disdain, ridicule, and stigma became a norm for wards, and this affected me throughout high school and university. The reality is that being in a boys’ home was a constant battle,
mentally, physically and emotionally – especially because education was never viewed as an important subject. However, I did not allow what I went through to affect my futuristic goal.”
CCRIF congratulates its 2023/24 scholarship recipients and looks forward to their contributions to advancing the sustainability agenda of the region.
The awards ceremony also included the launch of the 2024 CCRIF scholarship programmes for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. Applications for the 2024 scholarships are now open and persons can visit the CCRIF website to apply at: https://www.ccrif.org/ccrif-uwi-scholarships (undergraduate) or https://www.ccrif.org/scholarship (postgraduate).
Caribbean universities whose students have received scholarships over the 13-year period are The University of the West Indies; University of Technology, Jamaica; University of Guyana; and University of Trinidad and Tobago. Scholarships have been provided to nationals from 13 countries in the region: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, The Bahamas, and Trinidad & Tobago.
The scholarship programme is part of the CCRIF’s wider Technical Assistance (TA) Programme, which aims to create a cadre of persons who can contribute to effective disaster risk financing, disaster risk management, climate change adaptation and environmental sustainability in the region. The CCRIF TA Programme also provides internships to university graduates as well as support to member countries, regional organizations, non-governmental and community-based organizations, and academic institutions to develop and implement disaster risk management and climate change adaptation projects and programmes. The Facility has made a total investment of
approximately US$10 million under its TA Programme since 2010.
