The Ariel Rosado Memorial Education Foundation held its 3rd annual scholarship awards ceremony at the Lion’s Den headquarters in Belize City this morning to issue thirty scholarships to various primary, secondary and tertiary level students from different parts of the country.
The foundation was created in honor of former elite cyclist, Ariel Rosado, 28, who unfortunately passed away after being involved in a traffic accident in May of 2011, and its mission is to provide educational and sports scholarships to deserving Belizean youths.
On its inception in 2011, a total of 14 scholarships were given out by the foundation, and according to its president, Dr. Alvaro Rosado, who is Ariel’s father, this year’s record number of scholarships, which were made possible by several different sponsors, have provided more students with opportunities to further their studies.
He said, “The foundation has been in existence for two and a half years. We certainly did not expect to reach these heights that we’ve reached with 30 scholarships for the year. We are giving 10 scholarships for primary school students to learn to sail with the Belize Sailing Association; 17 high school scholarships covering the cost of all fees and books, and 3 university scholarships to Galen University. The foundation now expects to plateau off at 30 scholarships a year. We started with 14 scholarships the first year, we increased that to 27 scholarships, and then we went to 30 this year. We certainly are attracting more attention now from the sponsors and we appreciate it, so we want to thank them all because if it wasn’t for the sponsors, we wouldn’t be here.”
Rosado also outlined the requirements in place for students to qualify for a scholarship from the foundation, and spoke about their intention to establish a resource center for students.
“The basic requirement is need. Our website, arielrosadofoundation.bz, is accessible to the public and they can download the application forms there. The basic requirement is that you must be accepted into a school. If you are applying for a high school scholarship, you must have been accepted into a high school. After that, it is need – who is the poorest person will get the scholarship. Your grades don’t have to be the highest one, but it is based on need”, Rosado stated, adding that, “the foundation will now be exerting our efforts and energy and whatever other resources we have in the establishment of a resource centre where students can come in, have access to computers and the internet while they are being supervised in study sessions.”
After the ceremony, Justin Williams, 13, a second form student at Corozal Community College, told reporters that he is grateful to have his scholarship renewed for the second time because he sometimes experiences financial hardships, and so Williams – who desires to be a doctor after completing his studies – was glad for the opportunity provided by the foundation, its members and sponsors.
While the foundation observed a blissful and momentous occasion today, all is not well internally, as it appears that there is some degree of disagreement on the foundation’s purposes, including the way in which funds are supposed to be utilized.
Dr. Rosado, the foundation’s president, declared that the foundation’s treasurer, who acts as a signatory to the foundation’s bank account, is refusing to sign cheques due to those internal differences; consequently, the account remains inaccessible to the foundation. The matter is presently before the courts, but will possibly be settled out of court.
Dr. Rosado at the same time affirmed that if the issue goes to trial, the other board members of the foundation will take part as interested parties in the case against the treasurer.
Rosado, who indicated that he is confident that a resolution will be reached soon, told us that there is about $44,000 in the frozen account, and in the meanwhile, he and his wife have been using personal funds to continue the work of the foundation.