FOR the past 11 years, Denise Foster, vice-principal of the Barbara E Lee Hing Banana Ground Basic School in Manchester, has been executing her job without a university degree.
She is not unqualified to teach at the basic school level, for she holds a diploma in the field, but she has been wanting to climb further up the ladder. The problem was, she couldn’t afford the cost of studies at the tertiary level. Just over a year ago, for example, she made enquiries into the Bachelor of Education degree in Early Childhood Education at the Catholic College of Mandeville, but found the costs prohibitive.
Upon learning of her story, members of Christos Ministries Inc, a US-based charity organisation spearheaded by Reverend Thora Levy, and which partners with Food for the Poor Jamaica, decided to award her with a scholarship valued at approximately $700,000.
The announcement was made during the handover in January of a new building for Foster’s school, the fifth basic school in Jamaica to which Christos has contributed to repairing.
Foster started pursuing her studies three days after the announcement, registering for three courses for the semester on a part-time basis.
“The scholarship! I’m excited!” she told the Jamaica Observer.
“Words cannot explain how I feel. I am so thankful to Christos Ministries Inc. I have been trying for years, and I feel good to know the time has finally come to pass,” she said.
“After becoming pregnant with my first child at the age of 18 years, I became a high school dropout and lost the chance of sitting my O’level examinations months before they were held. I sat down at home until I had two other children.
She said at that point, she had given up on life, until 2001 when she made the decision to turn things around.
“In 2001, I decided that I was going to do the Jamaica School Certificate Examinations and I did three subjects without going to class and I got all three, also mathematics with credit. Following that, my last child started coming to Banana Ground Basic School in 2004, so I decided that it was my time now to step out too with my son, and I started working at the school,” Foster said.
She subsequently earned a grade two pass in mathematics in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examination.
“Also, at that time, my first child started high school, so I registered with Heart Trust/NTA to do the level one certification in early childhood education and from there it has been non-stop,” she said.
She went on to do the level two course, then the diploma course, and a Certificate in Human Exceptionalities at The Mico University College.
Foster expects to continue to make progress by being successful with the degree programme. She said she will decide then whether to remain in Banana Ground, or apply somewhere new to make a difference in the lives of others.
- Ainsworth Morris
Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/career/High-school-dropout-turns-her-life-around_53275
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