St. Francois Girls' College lifts Power Of One Trophy

Port-of-Spain, Trinidad: July 13, 2017 – First time entrant, Renique Mano of St. Francois Girls’ College impressed the panel of judges with her environmental awareness project to walk away as the proud winner of this year’s Loveuntil Foundation’s Power of One Competition. The announcement was made during a prize-giving ceremony held at NALIS Library, Abercromby Street, Port of Spain on July 5.

A visibly excited Mano, whose ultimate goal is to become an architect, said that completing her venture was a tough one, as she felt like giving up half way through the project.

“It was indeed a struggle to get my project together. I felt like giving up, but was encouraged by friends and family to push through. I had my moments of doubt as I wasn’t sure that I could have done a good job,” Mano said.

During the programme, students were challenged to learn about and create projects based on areas like Environmental Awareness, Crime Prevention, Social Injustice and Advocacy, Sexual Responsibility and Health. In the end, the St. Francois student overcame stiff competition from South East Port of Spain’s Tekel Jackson and Zakiya Williams, both tying for second place, and Tranquility Government Secondary’s Jada Graham, who placed third and received the Best Proposal prize for her project entitled, “D.R.U.G.S’.

Managed by the Loveuntil Foundation and sponsored by Republic Bank through the Power to Make A Difference programme, the Power of One is geared toward empowering third and fourth form students from secondary schools across the country to make a positive difference in their communities, churches, and schools.

Speaking at the ceremony, Farid Antar, General Manager, Corporate Operations and Process Improvement, Republic Bank, encouraged the students to build on the knowledge and experiences they received during their time as part of the programme. “Students, you have stayed focussed to the end of this programme, you have stayed the course through and true, and for that, you have certainly succeeded. As you continue to discover what the world has, you must stay true to the knowledge and wisdom that come with time and experience, and above all, exercise the ability to make the right life choices,” Antar said.

Sharing the Bible story of Joseph, feature speaker, Nigel Walcott, urged the students to continue to dream big and not allow the size of their dreams to dampen their spirits.

“Do not allow your circumstance to stop you from dreaming. Don’t allow your dream to be crushed by your circumstances. Joseph didn’t let his circumstance stop him from dreaming and it led to him becoming a member of the King’s palace at the time. Don’t let your circumstance make you believe that you can’t do it. Had Joseph allowed himself to be held down by his experience, he would have never reached to the King’s palace,” Walcott encouraged.

Republic Bank congratulates all the winners and the schools on a job well done, and looks to working with Loveuntil as the Power of One continues to challenge the nation’s young achievers to succeed.

Caption: Driven for Success: Republic Bank’s General Manager, Corporate Operations and Process Improvement, Farid Antar presents the first place prize to St. Francois Girls’ College student, Renique Mano, winner of the Power of One Competition, at the July 5 prize-giving ceremony, held at the NALIS Library in Port- of-Spain.