Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, November 10, 2023.
On November 7, 2023 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, Mrs. 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.
Other members of the CCRIF team at the event included Ms. Elizabeth Emanuel, Head of the Technical Assistance and Corporate Communications Manager teams of CCRIF as well as representatives of the Insurance Manager team, including Ms. Marvia Williams and Ms. Shemone Carter of Sagicor Insurance Managers. Additional members of the CCRIF team as well as several other stakeholders viewed the proceedings virtually courtesy of UWITV. CCRIF Deputy Chairperson, Mrs. Desirée Cherebin and CCRIF CEO Mr. Isaac Anthony, viewed virtually.
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.
About CCRIF SPC:
CCRIF SPC is a segregated portfolio company, owned, operated, and registered in the Caribbean. It limits the financial impact of catastrophic hurricanes, earthquakes, and excess rainfall events to Caribbean and Central American governments by quickly providing short-term liquidity when a parametric insurance policy is triggered. It is the world’s first regional fund utilising parametric insurance, giving member governments the unique opportunity to purchase earthquake, hurricane and excess rainfall catastrophe coverage with lowest possible pricing. CCRIF was developed under the technical leadership of the World Bank and with a grant from the Government of Japan. It was capitalized through contributions to a Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) by the Government of Canada, the European Union, the World Bank, the governments of the UK and France, the Caribbean Development Bank and the governments of Ireland and Bermuda, as well as through membership fees paid by participating governments. In 2014, a second MDTF was established by the World Bank to support the development of CCRIF SPC’s new products for current and potential members and facilitate the entry of Central American countries and additional Caribbean countries. The MDTF currently channels funds from various donors, including Canada, through Global Affairs Canada; the United States, through the Department of the Treasury; the European Union, through the European Commission, and Germany, through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and KfW. Additional financing has been provided by the Caribbean Development Bank, with resources provided by Mexico; the Government of Ireland; and the European Union through its Regional Resilience Building Facility managed by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) and the World Bank.
