Barbados Today

Some students of the St Patrick’s Roman Catholic School are honouring the memory of a regional banking icon as they enjoy a good primary school education.

Chief Executive Officer of CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank Gary Brown recently presented a Michael Mansoor scholarship cheque to Roman Catholic Bishop of Barbados and St Vincent Father Jason Gordon and headmistress Sister Pauline Dempsey.

The scholarship programme is a tribute to the late Mansoor who was CIBC FirstCaribbean’s Executive Chairman from its inception in October 2002 until his retirement at the end of 2013, after which he continued to serve on the company’s Board of Directors. The fund was established following his death in December 2014 by the bank’s corporate social responsibility arm, FirstCaribbean International ComTrust Foundation, in which he served as the original chairman.

Brown said the bank was happy to have the privilege to support children in the advancement of their education while at the same time commemorating someone who gave so much to the bank.

Bishop Gordon thanked CIBC FirstCaribbean for its generosity, underlining the importance of children being able to access a good education in an environment where they were also guided to develop good moral standards. After the presentation, he escorted the CEO and a team from the bank on a tour of the school, which provided positive examples of the work undertaken by that learning institution.

CIBC FirstCaribbean’s Director, Corporate Communications, Debra King explained that the bank chose a scholarship programme to honour Mansoor for two reasons: he demonstrated a love for supporting education projects; and he had said that, as a youngster, he would not have been able to achieve at the level which he did without a scholarship.

The St Patrick’s Roman Catholic School, which caters to both boys and girls, has a roll of 150 students, mostly from Bridgetown and its environs, but it also attracts students from as far as St Philip.

Sister Pauline said the students were not all Roman Catholics and pupils of other faiths were also accommodated.