October, 16, 2007: Tuesday 9th, 2007 saw the launch
of the ECCB (Eastern Caribbean Central Bank) Mentorship
Programme at the Maltin Moving Conference Centre, ECCB
Headquarters. The Mentorship Programme will seek to discuss
and tutor children of grade levels four through to grade six
in financial matters. The programme will be three years in
duration and promises to continue each three-year cycle with
new fourth and sixth graders.
The programme was launched via Video- Conferencing;
electronically linking participating schools with the advent
of technologies that made it possible for voices and visual
footage to be heard and seen by all participators in the
divergent Islands.
The Schools throughout the Caribbean, which are
participators of the mentorship programme are: The Valley
Primary School Anguilla, T. N Kirnon Primary School
Antigua and Barbuda, Roseau Primary School Dominica, J.W.
Fletcher Memorial R. C Boy’s School, Brades Primary School
Montserrat, Methodist Primary School Saint Lucia, C.W
Prescod School St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Irishtown
Primary School St. Kitts and Nevis.
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Ms. Diana
Williams, President of the ECCB Staff Association said the
mentorship programme is designed to teach children how to be
financially savvy. The Irishtown Primary School seemed the
ideal institution from which to inaugurate the programme,
“We decided to find a school where there is a need and where
the programme will be most beneficial,” she said.
Representatives from ECCB will partner with School
Institutions in the participating Islands to put into
practice financial instructiveness. Some topics that will be
foremost are, “The Importance of Budgeting” and “The EC
Dollar and You”.
Artistic selections were performed by participating
students. A poem was read by Stephonal Francois of
Montserrat Brades Primary School and from C. W Prescod
Primary School of St. Vincent and the Grenadines there was a
Steel Pan selection by Crystal Webbe and Aaliyah Province.
“Here we are in these islands many miles apart and still we
can talk to each other,” said Sir K. Dwight Veneer, Governor
of ECCB, expressing his gratification at the successful
launch of the Mentorship programme. He further stated, “Our
people in the OECS have already made progress by coming
together and we need to continue that progress. Education is
not a political issue, any group of people elected in this
region know that they have to provide education to the
people.”
The commencement of the Mentorship Programme meshed
financial authorities, staffs involved in the education of
the young, and Ministers of Education and top officials in
Finance - The Hon. Sam Condor St. Kitts and Nevis, The
Hon. Mc Neil Rogers, Minister of Education Anguilla;
The Hon. Victor Banks, Chairman, ECCB Monetary Council and
Minister of Finance, also of Anguilla; The Hon. Bertrand
Joseph Minister of Education Antigua and Barbuda, Members of
the EECB Board and Senior Management, Head Teachers of the
eight selected primary school and their students.
In officially launching the programme, Governor Venner made
token presentations of Computers to all participating
schools.
