SAN SALVADOR—U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador, Mari Carmen Aponte, awarded scholarships, valued at more than $1.3 million, to 53 students, under USAID’s SEED Program.  The SEED program, administered by the Center for Intercultural Education and Development at Georgetown University, supports regional economic and social development by providing education and training and an understanding of democratic processes for future leaders.

The new scholarship recipients have been selected from a pool of 500 applicants, proposed by different institutions. This new group of 53 Salvadorans will participate in study programs at U.S. universities and community colleges that range from six months to two years in length in a variety of subjects, such as building primary education reading skills, strengthening education for middle school at-risk youth, agribusiness for export, environmental technology and climate change, quality control, small and medium business management for women, and entrepreneurship and leadership for youth development.

The students will study at various schools, including: Broome Community College (New York); North Central Technical College (Wisconsin); Mt. Hood Community College (Oregon); Kirkwood Community College (Iowa); California State University, Dominguez Hills (California); and the University of Northern Colorado (Colorado).  This year’s program cycle starts in August 2013 and concludes in July 2015.

"The new scholars will be prepared in areas of importance to build the future of this great country. I want to emphasize that most of the students come from rural areas and more than 50 percent are women," said Ambassador Aponte during the scholarship award ceremony, which was also chaired by Vice-Minister of Cooperation for Development, Jaime Miranda; Vice-Minister of Education, Hector Samour; National Coordinator of the SEED Program in El Salvador, José Alfredo Bonilla; and former scholar, Glenda Maribel Alfaro.

Since 1989, USAID has invested over $20 million in scholarships that have benefited more than 1,000 Salvadorans.

The SEED Program contributes to the Partnership for Growth (PFG) initiative between the Salvadoran and U.S. governments to reduce barriers to sustainable economic development. One of these strategies is the development of human capital through education and professional training.