FOUR Jamaican students will have the opportunity to pursue medical degrees in Cuba this September under the Jamaica/Cuba Bilateral Scholarship Programme.

The recipients are Osheen Bogue, Antoinette Fyffe, Chantal Williams, and Jacques Heaven.

Additionally, student Marlyn Perez has been chosen to receive the annual scholarship which Cuba offers to students who are descendants of Cuban nationals living abroad.

Cuban Ambassador to Jamaica Bernardo Guanche Hernandez noted that, “they were successful because they have proved to meet the necessary requirements. Their parents must be very happy and proud”.

The ceremony for the official presentation of medical scholarships was held at the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba on Wednesday.

More than 107 Jamaican youths are currently studying in Cuban universities under the Jamaica/Cuba Bilateral Scholarship Programme.

Meanwhile, 186 Cubans are presently providing their services locally, under several bilateral cooperation programmes, mainly in the health and education sectors.

“The Jamaican scholarship awardees will be able to master a new language — Spanish. They will also be able to get to know the Cuban people and see our achievements and challenges for themselves,” Hernandez said.

He also encouraged the students to “return to Jamaica ready to make a useful contribution to your beloved country’s development and to the well-being of Jamaicans, especially those who are the most needy.”

Meanwhile, minister of state in the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Julian Robinson expressed, on behalf of the Jamaican Government, “gratitude to the Government and the people of Cuba” for the programme’s continuation.

“At the University of the West Indies, the programme costs on an annual basis about $2.5 million per year. You have an opportunity to be in Cuba to pursue a medical degree programme and to learn a language which will allow you to converse with the rest of the world,” Robinson said.

Responding on behalf of the recipients, Heaven expressed gratitude for the assistance.

“Rest assured that we intend to be ambassadors. I am sure that the warm Cuban spirit of selflessness, inclusion, and charity towards all peoples will be ours to champion in the years ahead,” he stated.

The first year of the four-year course will be dedicated to the study of the Spanish language. The scholarship covers tuition, accommodation, meals, clothing allowance, study materials, and medical care.

The Jamaica/Cuba Bilateral Scholarship Programme is administered by the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba in conjunction with the Scholarship Unit of the Ministry of Finance and Planning.