Axcel Finance, a micro-financing company which has been operating here for only two years, has been lauded for initiating a mentorship programme for secondary school children.
The praise came today as Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ronald Jones, addressed the launch of the Axcel Mentorship Program (AMP), at Solidarity House, Harmony Hall, St. Michael.
While stating that it was good to have such a program, Minister Jones said: ???We would have had in this country, over time, different iterations of something approaching mentorship, but with most things in life??? they rise and fall.???
He told the students that the Axcel Mentorship Program called for them to have a passion for what they do, entrepreneurial talent, and involvement in community and extracurricular activities.
Noting that it was for one term and at the end of the exercise students would be given seed capital from Axcel Finance to develop a project or undertake some community program, the Education Minister stressed that it was not only about the incentives, but at its completion how students would have developed.
???This Axcel Mentorship Program is but one of those things which would help you along that particular journey,??? declared Mr. Jones, stating they had to take decisions as to who they wanted to be and how they wanted to ???contribute to self, family, community, the nation and the world???.
Chief Executive Officer, Samuel Rosenberg, in his address, said AMP was an initiative which is expected to guide students.??He said: ???AMP will benefit you and your fellow students by developing your leadership skills, help you navigate throughout the various choices and the challenges you face today and in the future???
“This program will connect you with people and will empower you to ensure you become the best you possibly can. You will learn from different people with different backgrounds, different cultures, and you will receive the tools to develop yourself and your potential.”??
Emphasising that it was the ???first-of-its-kind??? in Barbados, he said its aim was to change students??? lives, and called on others in the business community to come on board.
He said: ???Give students once a month, one hour of your time and you can make a difference. This is not about money or charity; this is about enhancing the society, the community and the economy, not just for today but for tomorrow.???
joy-ann.gill@barbados.gov.bb