ICWI invests in children

Nearly 30 years ago, the ICWI Group of Companies created a Staff Education Fund as part of an ongoing effort to expand the range of benefits available to employees of member companies and to promote academic excellence throughout Jamaica.

Fast forward to the year 2020, and the long-lasting impact of being a recipient of ICWI’s

Staff Education Fund has been realised by a young Jamaican who recently received a full scholarship to Yale University.

Kahlil Walker, the son of ICWI staff member Dawn Walker, was a consistent recipient of a scholarship from ICWI during his primary and secondary educational journey. In fact, Kahlil was a scholarship awardee of ICWI from the age of six until he graduated high school.

Kahlil has now received a full scholarship to Yale. When asked what role ICWI played in motivating him to reach for the stars, he had one simple answer, “I made up my mind long ago that I was going to earn that scholarship every year, for me and my family.” That drive stuck with him throughout his life, and now he is at one of the world’s most prestigious universities.

EARLIER RECIPIENTS

Kahlil has followed in the footsteps of some of ICWI’s children who were earlier recipients, and who are now successful in the fields of medicine, law, accounting, business management, science and nuclear medicine.

Chairperson of the ICWI Group Foundation, Valerie Reynolds, remembers the exact moment Walker called to inform her of Kahlil’s scholarship. “When Dawn called to let me know that Kahlil had not only gotten into Yale, but received a full scholarship, tears filled my eyes, and I felt goosebumps all over my body. One would have thought he was my child; but that is what it is like here at ICWI, we are all part of a happy family, and I am happy that ICWI’s Education Fund played a role in his achievement.”

The fund is developed through employees’ voluntary contributions each month, plus matching funds from ICWI. The number and value of awards made each year are directly linked to the level of financial support given by staff members.

The fund provides support for children of permanent employees between the ages of six and 16 years who have demonstrated excellence through academic achievement, and the awards are given annually. Since its inception, an average of 15 awards have been given each year to boys and girls; and over the last 15 years, ICWI has granted 175 scholarships and a total of $5 million.