Basil Charles Educational Foundation

TO MAKE A DONATION TO THE FOUNDATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FOUNDATION OFFICE (basiledu.foundation@gmail.com / +1(784) 456-2602)

Formation

Basil Charles grew up in a small rural community of Choice village, in the town of Biabou. Due to economic hardship in the family, by the age of 12 Basil had already began working to help his family make ends meet. By the age of 14 he had dropped out of school completely to begin working full time. Years later Basil landed on the small island of Mustique where he continued to work and eventually became the owner of a bar. This bar would go onto becoming one of the most famous bars in the world, Basil’s Bar. The Bar is a staple on the island of Mustique a place where celebrities and royalty alike get a chance to party, out of sight of the paparazzi. When he gained success and notoriety he looked for a way to give back to his country. He understood first hand just how hard it was for families with economic difficulties to meet the cost of secondary education. The solution he sought to this problem was to start a scholarship program to help offset the cost of secondary education and make it more accessible to those in need.

Unlike most scholarships offered in the country the BCEF scholarships are need based. This ensures that the students with the aptitude to do well in school but that are lacking the financials to succeed will be assisted and given the extra help to fill in the gaps. Representatives from the Educational Foundation meet with families and teachers wherever possible to give them all the support they need to transition into high school.

The Basil Charles Educational Foundation is run in a well disciplined way ensuring every cent goes towards scholarships. Since its inception in 1996, over 2,000 students have been helped with full time scholarships, bursaries and other educational pursuits. Along with the monetary scholarship awarded, full time scholarship recipients are also eligible to receive a feeding scholarship as well which provides them with a balanced daily hot lunch.

The Basil Charles educational foundation currently has 53 high school students from all over St. Vincent and the Grenadines that receive support. They are:

Name School

Ashani Henry St.Vincent Grammar School
Curtly Peters St.Vincent Grammar School
Kerthez Edwards St. Vincent Grammar School
Mya Pierre St.Vincent Girls’ High School
Claron Jr Campbell St.Vincent Grammar School
Jordel Stowe St. Martins Secondary School
Swiss J.J Andrews St.Martins Secondary School
Sharina Browne St. Vincent Girls’ High School
Wyatt Thomas Bishops’ College Kingstown
Miles Cuffy St.Vincent Grammar School
Ciana Nelson St.Vincent Girls’ High School
Jade Williams St.Vincent Girls’ High School
Kayleah Beache St.Vincent Girls’ High School
Keython Gaymes St.Vincent Grammar School
Jimelia Andrews St.Vincent Girls’ High School
Nathaniel Medica St.Vincent Grammar School
Rihann Cozier St.Vincent Girls’ High School
Adafa Ralph St.Vincent Grammar School
Acadia Charles St. Vincent Girls’ High School
Elvanique Horne St.Vincent Girls’ High School
Jelani Simmons St.Vincent Grammar School
Delron Dells St.Vincent Grammar School
Eizzy Roberts St.Vincent Grammar School
Kayron Francis Bishops’ College Kingstown
Shanior Durrant St.Vincent Girls’ High School
Aliyah Sergeant St.Vincent Girls’ High School
Nyeemah Nesbitt St.Vincent Girls’ High School
Kolongi Garraway St.Vincent Troumaca Ontario Secondary School
Ti Juando Jacobs St Martins Secondary School
Smithron Stapleton Central leeward Secondary School
Leona Barrow Bethel High School
Rishorn Morgan St Vincent Grammar School
David Lewis St.Clair Deacon Secondary School
Serenity Joseph St Vincent Girl’s High School
Donrez Thomas St Vincnt Grammar School
Lennol Westfield Petit Bordel Secondary School
Rohan Andrews St Vincent Grammar School
Delroy Bobb St Vincent Grammar School
Cyril Jr Prescott St Vincent Grammar School
Cornelius Reece St Vincent Grammar School
Fredel Small Thomas Saunders Secondary School.
Andrew Jr Moore Adelphi Secondary School
Nathan Lavia St.Joseph Convent Marriaqua
Angeli Joseph-ST.Joseph Convent Marriaqua
Brody Warren-St.Martins Secondary School
Aneisha Richards-Intermediate High School
Amaree James-St Joseph Convent Marriaqua
Rayshawn Jack-St.Vincent Grammar School
Qianu Ralph-St.Vincent Grammar School
Caeli George -St.Vincent Girl’s High School
Katalia Samuel-St.Vincent Girl’s High School
Raj Davis-St Vincent Grammar School
Conneilia Francois-Bethel High School

N.B- Please use the link provided below to access and download the scholarship application form for the year 2023.

Click here to download application form

Administration

The foundation is administered through boards of directors. The board is a voluntary board mad up of professionals in education, financial services, marketing and business persons. The function of the board is to set up out the objectives and goals for the foundation, source funding and also to set the policies and guidelines as to how the foundation operates. The current board of directors:

Basil Charles – Founder

Michel de Vibraye

Leeza Charles

Samanth Goodluck

Melanie Etherington

Foundation Activities

Early childhood program

In 2010, the Foundation started an Early Childhood Program, in collaboration with the Ministry of Mobilization and the Ministry of Education, in which they assist some 17 pre-schools in the country. Under this program, the schools are given nutritional support, teachers and parents are given training in various areas and minor repairs are also done to some of the schools. Since the start of the program, some 600 cots were distributed to the pre-schools.

During the pandemic and Eruption of the the LaSofufriere Volcano special effects to support our students that live in affected areas by delivering assistance such as Bed mattresses as well as $300.00 food voucher for each family who was affected .

High school program and beyond

Students apply for the scholarship at the completion of primary school. Once accepted into the program they will receive assistance for the duration of High school which is 5 years in St. Vincent. The foundation also boasts one of the oldest scholarship programs in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The foundation currently has 53 students on the scholarship program.

The foundation continues to support students with the school feeding program for secondary school for student in the foundation that needs the extra help. The St. Vincent Grammar School and the Girls’ High Schools are the school that has the built in programs; bills are submitted to the foundation at the end of each school term. Support is also given to the foundation children in the way of extra classes for maths and English for those students who need the help.

As students continue in the program their needs are assessed and their aid is adjusted. Some students may qualify to continue their scholarship though 2-year post-secondary programs offered at the A- Level college or the St. Vincent community college.

Stem summer program

In addition to the in school program the foundation conducted a summer school program for both Primary and Secondary school students in conjunction with STEM SVG.

The summer program catered to 25 students in both secondary and primary school. While attending the program, the primary students were completely engaged in the program. They completed tasks in Programming (I.T), Architectural design, Robot building and Programming, three educational field trips and were assisted in creating their own exhibition.

The secondary students were guided to select their subjects based on the current academic level in their schooling. Most of the secondary students were guided to select subject areas which would allow them to be more knowledgeable in their respective courses. Some of the courses were Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Integrated Science, Pascal Programming, Excel (Spreadsheet) and Database Proficiency. Some of the students for the first time took part in an activity, one being swimming and tennis. They also had the opportunity to travel to the Richmond Vale Academy, where they were able to interact with various scientists and other academics from different parts of the world.

Funding

When the Mustique Blues Festival started in 1996, one of the major concepts was to use the festival to attract attention and donors to the Basil Charles Educational foundation. Most of the funds used for the scholarships and bursaries come from the Blues Festival along with donations private and corporate donors. Proceeds from the companion records made from the recordings of the festival also go towards the foundation. The government of St Vincent and the Grenadines fully supports the Mustique Blues Festival, which is distinguishing itself around the world and helping to make St Vincent and the Grenadines a destination for people visiting the Caribbean.

Contact for further information

Basil Charles

Mustique Tel: +1 (784)-488-8405
+1 (784)-488-8407
Fax: +1 (784)-456-5825

Leeza Charles

Email: Leezasvg@live.com

Mobile/Cel: +1 (784)-491-4179

Samantha Goodluck

Email: vincysam72@hotmail.com

Mobile/Cel: +1(784) 523-0800

Basil Charles Educational foundation office

Email- basiledu.foundation@gmail.com

Telephone-1(784) 456-2602