On 17 December, we presented the Kusuma Trust Excellence Prizes to six students in recognition of their hard work and academic excellence. This year, the Excellence Prize was awarded to Anna Grech, Frank Devincenzi, Ritik Melwani, Salma Salem, Lina Hasisen and Adam Massias. Each of the students has attained a place at a leading UK university including Cambridge, St Andrew’s, St George’s and the London School of Economics, and will go on to study subjects as diverse as medicine, mathematical finance, geography and history. Soma Pujari, our Executive Trustee said: “We had a very strong suite of applicants for the Excellence awards and it was a delight to meet these ambitious bright young students who are dedicated to make a positive change in the world.”
Certificates were also presented to local individuals and organisations who were awarded a Kusuma Trust Gibraltar Professional Development Award in 2019.This year seven individuals were selected and will undertake training in a broad range of areas including; family mediation, special education needs, non-medical prescribing in cancer care, psychology, counselling, dyslexia support, neuro-linguistic programming and assistive technology for communication and learning. Two local charities, the Citizens Advice Bureau and Clubhouse Gibraltar also received a grant to enable their members to undertake professional training in the UK.
Speaking at the event, trustee Peter Isola congratulated all the recipients saying; “the Kusuma Trust Excellence Prize and Professional Development Awards recognise the hard work and dedication of local individuals, but also their contribution to the local community. Every year we are impressed by the standard of applications we receive. We hope that by encouraging people to fulfil their potential, that we can provide a long-lasting benefit to Gibraltar.”