Kingston, Jamaica, 31 May 2019. The Embassy of Cuba in Jamaica hosted the awarding ceremony for the scholarships offered each year by the Cuban Government to young Jamaicans, to pursue medical studies in the Largest Island of the Antilles.
Neither the rain nor the heavy traffic on Friday in Kingston could frustrate the celebration, chaired by the Ambassador of Cuba Mrs. Inés Fors Fernández, and attended by representatives of the Jamaican Government and civil society organizations, the awardees and their relatives.
The scholarship awarding process included the creation of a Selection Committee made up by representatives of the Ministries of Finance and Public Service, Health and Wellness, and Foreign Relations and Foreign Trade of Jamaica; the Jamaica-Cuba Friendship Association; the Association of Jamaicans Graduated in Cuba; the heads of the Cuban Medical and Education cooperation brigades in Jamaica; and the Embassy of Cuba.
After reviewing more than two-hundred applications, interviewing around thirty shortlisted candidates, and hard deliberations that weighed competence, need and social commitment, the Committee decided to grant the scholarships to Amanda Bradley, Dominique Whitely, Deanroy Clarke and Donorio Hartley to study Medicine; Satasha Hutchinson to study Dentistry; and for postgraduate specialization studies, to Kerrylee Jones and Naifa Murray.
Within the framework of the activity it was announced that young Marianne Binta Konaté Hernández, the daughter of a Cuban resident in Jamaica and a Guinean man who graduated in Cuba, was also awarded a scholarship to study Medicine in our country, as part of the existing program for children of Cubans living abroad.
The Ambassador of Cuba gave the central speech of the event. She highlighted the quality of the Cuban health system and explained aspects related to the study of medical specialties in our country. Later, the floor was successively taken by Ambassador L. Ann Scott, Mrs. Donette Carter, and Ms. Ava Gay Timberlake, representing the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Finance, and Health, respectively.
Doctor and professor Mr. Neville Graham, a member of the first group of Jamaicans who studied Medicine in Cuba more than 40 years ago, highlighted the enormous sacrifice that the Cuban people make, in the midst of the economic difficulties they face as a result of the strengthening of the US blockade, to guarantee that these medical scholarships are awarded to students from all over the world.
Afterwards, awardees proceeded to sign the " Code of Ethics for the Foreign Students in Higher Education Centres of the Republic of Cuba", a document that describes the values and principles that shall characterize them at the institution where they will be trained and the community where they are going to perform.
At the end, Amanda Bradley, on behalf of her colleagues, thanked the governments of Jamaica and Cuba for the opportunity to realize their dreams, and reaffirmed their commitment to train as good professionals and to serve their community and their country.