SOME of the barriers faced by students in achieving their educational goals have been reduced through the Wisynco Group Limited’s Give Back programme. Three students from each of Jamaica’s 14 parishes have been awarded a cash grant through the WATA Hydrate to Educate education initiative.

Forty-two students from schools including Sydney Pagon STEM Academy and Central, Rusea’s, Wolmer’s Boys’, Porus, Fair Prospect, Mona, Jonathan Grant, Green Pond, Norman Manley, BB Coke, Marymount, and Aabuthnott Gallimore high schools emerged as the successful recipients of a grant valued at $175,000 each.

Students will use the grants to improve their situation in any way that is most pressing such as paying outstanding school/exam fees, acquiring laptops, purchasing books, or covering transportation costs.

At a reception hosted at the Wisynco headquarters in Lakes Pen, St Catherine, the audience heard many stories of how pressing the needs were. In one instance a mother told of the passing of her husband and a former spouse, fathers of her two sons, in the space of two years, and the impact that has had on the family’s stability. Another mother told of the tragic passing of the father of her three children and what that has meant for the education of her children.

“We are very deliberate about our focus on education as the vehicle to improve the lives of our students. We designed this programme to have as wide a reach as possible so that students and their families can receive what for many is just the little extra helping hand they need to move forward,” said Wisynco’s Karen Baugh, group marketing manager.

For many students the grant has come at just the right time. Speaking at a reception hosted by Wisynco, one elated mother reported:

“I saw the ad at around two or three in the morning online and decided to nominate my two sons. One of them wants to be a doctor…but he is weak at math and I wanted to him to do extra lessons but I couldn’t afford it. When he called to tell me he had heard from Wisynco he was so excited. He said, ‘Mom see, I told you, things are going to work out’.”

Another student, having written what she wanted to say, still needed someone to read for her as tears rolled down her face: “I’d like to thank Wisynco for this bursary as it will be able to pay my school fee and allow less stress on my guardian. My parents are not well-off and even though they try their best, we sometimes lack what we need for school. Thank you Wisynco.”

Also benefiting from the WATA Hydrate to Educate initiative are 14 schools, one from each parish, which have been awarded a grant of $300,000. These funds will be used for a range of purposes including beautification of the school compound, security enhancement, sports development and acquiring equipment.

Funds for the Hydrate to Educate initiative have come from the sale of commemorative 600ml bottles of WATA, identifiable by their yellow labels. The limited edition labels pay tribute to Jamaica’s achievements in sports with spotlight on the contribution of women. Also featured on the labels is the WATA Give Back Pledge, which commits a portion of the returns from the sale of each bottle to an education fund valued at $12 million.