This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Cuban scholarship programme and another sixteen Dominican students have been awarded scholarships to pursue studies in Cuban Universities.
Among the recipients, ten received scholarships for studies in medicine, three in engineering, two in higher education and one in nursing.
They received their certificates of acceptance at a special handing over ceremony held at the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba in Morne Daniel on Monday, June 24th 2019.
Architect and former Cuban scholarship recipient in 1981, Severin McKenzie said close to 400 students have received Cuban scholarships since Hurricane David in 1979.
“At that time, the Cuban government’s position was [that] they could not give money as assistance to Dominica at that time like other countries were doing with relief but the type of relief they would give would be scholarships to the youth. And you can see that 40 years later, this appears to be the only tangible relief that has grown from 11 students in the first group to close to 400 today.”
He said all the relief received from other countries has disappeared or forgotten but the Cuban scholarship programme ended up being something of real value.
McKenzie also encouraged the recipients to return to Dominica to assist in the country’s development.
“Many of us have actually stayed here because one of the things that we learnt from the Cuban experience is that we were actually going to Cuba to come back to Dominica to help develop the country,” he said. “We want you to remember it is a great sacrifice that the Cuban people are in fact educating you, giving you an education to personally develop yourselves, but most importantly to come back here and to help develop our beautiful land.”
The Cuban Embassy has not only contributed to Dominica’s human resource development but also towards its infrastructural development and health sector.
Anytime i meet you with your jesus slippers i will shake your big toe. gosh all our young men to is just wast time, eat, … sleep and hussel man. It is a shame and nyou keeping ringing that in their ears and they shamelessly ignore, but these are the men who end up on mental ward when time done on them.. smh
Wow congratz but they have to wait a whole year to do internship after graduating from Cuba plus who can develop country a job isn’t even guaranteed when 3/4 of the doctors in pmh a foreigners….
Congrats to these scholars!
A release of the names would be a nice add to the article as well as the fields other than medicine in which some will be studying. Im sure some students had comments on how they feel or what theyll do with their opportunity. I find the article very generalized and lacking information imo.
Given that the State College offers no studies whatsoever in the creative arts, I have tried in vain to secure a place for just one Dominican student at Cuba’s National Art Schools, but I have received no response from our Cuban Ambassador and no help from the Cuban Embassy.
Having said that, until we can give prominence to the creative arts in our secondary schools I doubt that we deserve help from elsewhere.
The young men should be encouraged to go and study also. When these young qualified women are back from studying where are the qualified young men to marry. That is a vital part of the game.
I would also wish to access this scholarship am a Kenyan student scored a B+ of 72 and would wish to pursue medicine yet I can’t due to my financial instability
How do I get my own scholarship?
Where are the young men? Year after year I see scholarships being awarded to you g ladies. Is the system set up to fail the young men? Just asking .
Wouldnt the young men first have to appy? Should the govt drag the young men, hold their fingers and make them apply? Why do you insist on displaying such idiocy online?
Trying applying for one of those scholarships. Let me know how that works out for you if you don’t have connections.