SUNDAY 1 OCTOBER, 2017 – UWI TODAY
11
THE MAKANDAL DAAGA SCHOLARSHIP IN LAW
This year, the Conference of
the Economy (COTE)
, is being
held under the theme
“Trade
and Caribbean Development
Nexus”
and honours Sir Alister
McIntyre a distinguished
scholar, an ambassador and
advocate, both regionally and
internationally, for integrated
and export competitive Caribbean economies.
Sir Alister recognized the role of integration, trade
in goods and services and poverty eradication to achieve
sustainable development, which laid the foundation for his
In his book
“The Caribbean and the Wider World,”
Sir Alister provided commentaries on his life and career,
spanning his upbringing in his home country of Grenada
to his role in the development of The UWI. His career,
which focuses on Caribbean and global developments, was
attributed to his drive to overcome many challenges and
build capacity in himself and by extension the Caribbean
region.
For the younger generation, Sir Alister has provided
historical perspective on the development process in the
Caribbean.
work and career. He was known as a venerable Caribbean
integrationist and, as a practitioner, piloted the movement
for integration as Secretary-General of Caricom1974-1977.
He served atThe UWI inmany capacities, including as Vice-
Chancellor from September 1988-September1998.
Conference presentations will be organised along five
subthemes:
1. Regional Human Resource Development
2. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Financial
Development – A Regional Assessment
3. Economic Integration in the Caribbean: Can it Work?
4. Issues in Caribbean Development
5. Export Led Growth
“He represented the best
that East Port of Spain had to
offer,” said an outgoing minister of government. The line
could easily describe Kareem Marcelle, a young man who
has set aside his own turbulent life to serve others in the East
Port of Spain region and who, because of his activism, has
earned theMakandal Daaga Scholarship to study Law atThe
UWI, St. Augustine Campus this academic year.
Kareem is the last of four children for his mother
and father who respectively earned $700 fortnightly as a
kindergarten teacher, and $1,500 monthly working in the
market. “But we were rich in morals and good values,” he
says.
He recalled that in Standard Four, just before the start
of the new school year, his father said quite suddenly, that
he was going to the US for three months. With two children
in secondary school and two in primary school, emotional
and financial upheaval ensued. His two older brothers
stopped school to take jobs to help provide for the five of
them. It came to light later that his father was not returning.
Unknown to them, he had a wife and she had sent for him.
Kareem moved through Sacred Heart Boys R.C. to
Daniels Community College, which went into receivership
shortly after he started, making his hard to come by books
and one shirt abruptly obsolete. He was transferred to
Trinity College in Maraval, where, in spite of the choppy
start he became president of the debate club and the 2012
National Youth Parliamentarian.
At home, he began to get involved in the life of the
community. He is still the PRO for the Beetham Gardens
Village Council, which organizes inter-community sports
and cultural competitions aimed at uniting factions in the
area. For three months (June-August) every year, young
ladies who enter the queen show are trained not just to walk
on a stage, but also to be role models, and the netball and
football competitions endwith a grand family day. Kareem is
also the PRO for the Positive Impact Organization, another
Roxanne Brizan-St. Martin is an Instructor with the Department of Economics, The UWI St. Augustine Campus
In Tribute to Sir Alister McIntyre
B Y R O X A N N E B R I Z A N - S T M A R T I N
CONFERENCE OF THE ECONOMY, OCTOBER 11-12, 2017, LEARNING RESOURCE CENTRE
KareemMarcelle: The First Scholar
B Y R E B E C C A R O B I N S O N
where is more money coming from to re-print a whole
project? Many children from this area do not have access
to these resources, so they do not hand in SBAs. This was
my struggle too. I know,” he says.
Because these factors are the reality for children from
the area, volunteers, usually graduates of the programme,
come back and help current students stay on track to
handing in SBAs, frequently helping with the cost of
printing. BEYOND also helps annually by gifting 25 families
with completed booklist items that include uniforms – the
scarcity of which is also familiar to him.
How does a self-made successful young man deal with
the society-imposed stigma attached to people from the
Beetham? Kareem: “The bad elements in my community
represent 1% of the people who live there. Most people are
law-abiding and hard-working citizens. And personally,
I try to tell people where I am from early! I think I am a
good example of a Beetham resident and I am not running
away from it.”
He wants to be an attorney-at-law as he sees law as the
foundation of his community, the place that has filled gaps
in his family life and where he continues to thrive.
Every year he personally hosts a children’s Christmas
party for about 1,500 on Christmas Day, as he knows “what
is it like to not have a gift to go outside with on Christmas
morning among other children.” Kareemseemsmotivated to
give and to do by all the deficits he experienced in his earlier
years. As PRO for the BeethamGardens Village Council he
is currently organizing the area’s first community career fair,
which will come off in November.
Kareem was a facilities assistant at NIDCO for the
three years prior to winning the scholarship. He has since
relinquished the position for a combination of reading for
his Law degree and continuing to work in his community.
It is really fitting that this young, bright star wins the first
offer of the Makandal Daaga Scholarship in Law.
For more on the application guidelines visit
Applications for this scholarship close on May 7, 2018.
Applicants must also satisfy the matriculation requirements of The University of the West Indies and must simultaneously apply to the Faculty of Law by May 31st, 2018.
For more information visit call 662-2002 ext.82039, 82040; email:
community-based initiative that provides mentorship and
counseling services for schools in the area without guidance
counselors.
Another community outreach organization Kareem
is part of is BEYOND, which is the Beetham Estate Youth
Outreach Network Development. He is the Youth and
Education Officer and assists in running after-school
programmes, one of which organizes for students to
complete their SBAs.
“It’s really easy not to hand in SBAs, the cost of a colour
print is one dollar a page, plus the cost of trips to Internet
cafes. When you hand it in and the teacher marks on it,
Kareem Marcelle, the first recipient of the award.
PHOTO: ATIBA CUDJOE
