Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO) has doled out N8.1 million as scholarship award to 197 underprivileged students across the country towards supporting and promoting their educational development.

The figure brings the total number of beneficiaries under the scheme so far to 230. The scholarship scheme was instituted in 2008 with the cash prize of USD 10,000 that came with the Grameen Foundation Excellence in Microfinance Award won by LAPO in 2006.

LAPO MD, Mr. Godwin Ehigiamusoe said the scheme was instituted essentially to lessen the burden poor LAPO clients face, adding that the greatest concern of women is the educational growth and development of their children.

He stated that the scholarships cover secondary (high School) education, the stage at which most children from poor households drop out of school, adding that LAPO makes regular contributions to the scholarship fund. Ehigiamusoe said the beneficiaries were selected from all areas of LAPO operations through a process that combined aptitude test and degree of deprivation.

Chairman of the occasion and the University of Benin Bursar, Dr. (Mrs.) May Nwoye called on well meaning individuals and corporate bodies to invest in the educational development of children by supporting educational institutions and initiatives such as the LAPO scholarship scheme.