THE Spanish-Jamaican Foundation (SJF) was once again pleased to award scholarships to young Jamaicans who show a talent for, and an interest in the Spanish language.

In his capacity as Honorary SJF President Ambassador Aníbal Jiménez handed over a ceremonial cheque for $250,000 to cover five $50,000 scholarships to be awarded through the UWI Development and Endowment Fund (UWIDEF) to students who show promise in the subject area but are also in need of financial assistance.

The SJF president said: “You can never go wrong when you learn a foreign language, especially if that language is Spanish.”

SJF General Manager Dr Rebecca Tortello explained: “These scholarships not only serve to recognise UWIDEF’s 25th anniversary, but also the launching of an SJF youth ambassador programme. Our scholarship recipients will be considered as ambassadors of the Spanish language in Jamaica and be asked to join us in our outreach activities. These include visiting primary schools with us on Read Across JA Day to read aloud in Spanish to grade 1 students and assisting us as we stage immersion workshops to help CSEC students prepare for their Spanish orals across the island.”

Deputy Principal of the UWI Mona Campus, Professor Ishenkumba Kahwa applauded the initiative stating that “this will allow more students to realise their dreams of a higher education, while allowing them to take advantage of the opportunities created by the investments of these Spanish companies, by being employed at higher levels”. He further stated that the UWIDEF should be applauded for the initiative and welcomes others to make this investment in our future.