Two more Guyanese awarded prestigious Chevening scholarships

The British High Commissioner to Guyana Andrew Ayre on Tuesday hosted a reception at his residence to bid farewell to the two recipients of the Chevening Scholarship to further their studies in the United Kingdom.
Two persons, Chavika Harilal and Joel Simpson, were each awarded a one-year scholarship to study at universities in the United Kingdom. Harrilal will be going to the University of Kent in Canterbury, UK, to further her studies in conservation in rural development whilst Simpson will be furthering his studies in the law on human rights at the Nottingham University in England.

Before presenting the scholarships to the two awardees, Ayre congratulated them on their achievement on receiving the scholarship and wished them success as they “undertake on an academic journey that will no doubt enrich their educational and professional development”.
Ayre also noted that they should take the opportunity to learn about the diverse culture in England. Attorney Gino Persaud, a 2004 recipient of the Chevening Scholarship, told the awardees that this is a very prestigious scholarship but with this prestige, he warned, comes tremendous responsibilities, as such, they are both expected to return to Guyana and “contribute to the development of our country”.
Persaud said that he would like to see persons returning to Guyana after furthering their studies abroad to take charge of the situation in the country, and restore the values it once had. He also urged the duo to make full use of the overwhelming resources that would be available to them and at the same time, he charged them not to lose focus of their goals.
“Please don’t become lost in academic pursuit, England is an amazing place to grow, to learn and to be mature, and I think to be at a first world university is an education all by itself.”
Harilal, who graduated from the University of Guyana with a degree in biology, will leave on September 14. The awardee said that she was already accepted by the University of Kent and applied for a scholarship to further her studies when she was awarded the prestigious Chevening Scholarship.
Meanwhile, Simpson, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Guyana, is expected to leave in two weeks time since his course starts this month- end. He is currently an active member of the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD). The awardee said that he chose this field because he always had an interest in bisexual and transsexual issues; hence, he wants to develop his interest in human rights issues relating to sexuality and genders.