Education Minister Shawn Edward, during a brief ceremony, reminded scholarship recipients that they are ambassadors of Saint Lucia. The Minister made his comments last week as he bid a farewell to 14 students who will be pursuing higher education in Morocco. Minister Edward encourages the students to represent the country well and lay the foundation for the future generations.
“The words that come out of your mouth in Morocco, your actions, how you conduct yourselves, would be a reflection of 180,000 people in Saint Lucia. Today you can go to university because others made sacrifices. I went to university because those before me made sacrifices. So in equal measure, you have a responsibility to the next generation,” he encouraged. The Education Minister reminds the outgoing students that they must set the foundation for incoming ones. “The students who are currently in the primary schools of our country, you are expected to build on that foundation for them,” he said.
Edward urges the students to remain in contact with their fellow Saint Lucians and motivate each other to aspire to the very best of academia.
“When you get to a foreign country, you will need the support of each other. That is critical. And when that feeling of doubt begins to take over you, that is when you have to rely on each other. That is when your best friend in Morocco, that is when the girl in the dorm next door has to come and say to you, “You can do it”. There must be somebody to reassure you that the confidence that the government of Saint Lucia placed in you is not a confidence that was misplaced,” said Edward.
Saint Lucia maintains a good relationship with the Kingdom of Morocco since March 1988. Since then, Morocco has opened its borders to Saint Lucians desirous of furthering their education.
During his last visit to Morocco, Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre reiterated Saint Lucia’s full support for Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara Desert and expressed great appreciation for the Vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI for a united and active South-South cooperation.
