By Robert A. Emmanuel
Studying for the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) exams has always been a taxing experience for any secondary school student and their parents—both mentally and financially.
However, one young person sought to alleviate some of this financial burden for students at the Irene B Williams Secondary School.
Shameyah Francis, a KYC Compliance Analyst with Corporate Compliance, who was born in Antigua but left the country at a young age, explained to Observer media her rationale for such an initiative.
“I knew it was one of the hardest things for a lot of parents to afford the CXC, especially in Antigua where there is no government assistance…and it was a great way to just give back and not forget where I came from,” she explained.
Francis said that, under her Fleming-Francis Scholarship Fund, students had to apply to receive funding—which amounted to EC$400 per student—outlining both their academic status and the level of financial need, but for this year she decided to waive the written requirement.
“The parents would need to consent to receiving the funds but because of the time crunch for the need for the funds, this year I waived the letter.
“I did get the report cards to see where the students were and I understood some of the information about what was going on with the families and the purpose for the funds,” she said.
Francis, who is studying for the Florida bar examination and is currently a corporate compliance officer, said that she hoped to expand this initiative through her foundation to include more schools.
“I am going to have some other attorneys that I know assist so next year I will be able to do more funding,” she said, adding that she hoped to have support from at least three other attorneys.
“I really hope this is an incentive for other students to do well and try their best because I know that because of life circumstances, we may get down on ourselves and not do our best,” she added.
Meanwhile, National Youth Parliamentarian for All Saints East and St Luke, Esquire Henry, thanked Francis for sponsoring the students.
“I would like to thank the Meyah Foundation for giving back to the students within the constituency and I hope the students are able to maximise on the opportunity and do well in their CXC examinations,” Henry said.