A new scholarship has been launched for students who want a career taking care of Bermuda’s youngest residents.
The Edna Watson Committee of 25 Scholarship is for Bermudians looking to study and train for a child-focused career in healthcare or allied health disciplines such as occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech therapy – all of which are much-needed services for the island.
The Committee of 25 provides financial assistance to families who need help with travel expenses, equipment and other related supports for children with medical, developmental or physical challenges.
Named after the organisation’s founder, Edna Watson, the new scholarship is a needs- and merit-based award of up to $10,000, offered annually, that will support students studying at the associate, undergraduate or pos0graduate level in accredited programmes such as nursing, psychology, medicine, rehabilitation and public health.
“I have found that there’s a major shortage of paediatric speech therapists and ABA (Applied Behavioural Analysis) therapists, who are specifically for children with autism, and I think that we need to highlight what children should be going out to study,” explained Nurse Bernadette Wilson – known as Nurse Bernie – who is a Committee of 25 board director, and paediatric nurse at the Bermuda Paediatric Centre.
“Things like special education. There’s lots of courses that you can do that would help those special needs children. So, we’re looking for people who are going into paediatric specialities, who would come back to Bermuda and use the skills to help us.”
Hour of need
Miriam Shaya-King is the Committee’s board chair and an expressive arts therapist, divorce coach and couples therapist at Solstice. Prior to Solstice, she worked with Child and Family Services and connected with a number of organisations that serve children in Bermuda.
“There is such a lack of services needed so we felt that by creating the scholarship, it’s giving back to our community and bringing Bermudians back to work here, and to serve,” she added.
The Committee of 25 helps to bridge the gap when other funding, such as insurance or public programmes, is unavailable or insufficient and families would not otherwise be able to pay for the medical resources they need for their children.
If a child needs treatment aboard, for example, but their family can’t pay for the upfront travel, accommodation or food costs, the Committee of 25 can help. Other examples include covering the costs of prescriptions if a family is uninsured, helping with co-pays for physiotherapy, occupational therapy or speech therapy, if needed, and providing equipment such as wheelchairs or other mobility aids.
“How the economy is right now, there’s a lot of children without insurance, which is becoming an issue as far as children who really need surgery overseas,” Nurse Bernie said.
“We couldn’t help with that surgery, we can only help with travel and things like that, but there’s more and more situations where kids need to go overseas.”
Last year, the organisation provided needs-based assistance to 35 children and their families.
The Committee of 25 was founded in 1952 by Edna Watson, who moved to Bermuda from Canada in 1927 and became one of the first two women to be elected to the Colonial Assembly. Among other roles, she served as chairman of the Social Welfare Board and it was during this time that she became aware of the issues faced by children with disabilities on the island.
To address these, she asked 12 of her friends to invite one friend each to join a committee dedicated to addressing the needs of these children and that’s how the Committee of 25 was formed.
A year later, she also established a hospital in Dockyard for children with disabilities.
“She was a real female warrior,” Nurse Bernie said.
Before establishing the scholarship, Ms Shaya-King asked Ms Watson’s nephew for his permission to use her name and he agreed immediately. “I think she would love it,” she said.
Show your passion
Nurse Bernie said successful scholarship applicants must demonstrate a “passion for what they want to do”, a “passion for the course they want to take,” and a “passion for paediatric healthcare”.
Ms Shaya-King said they need “a passion for Bermuda and wanting to give back to our island and this community”.
Any volunteering experience for related organisations such as WindReach, Tomorrow’s Voices or BASE (Bermuda Autism Support & Education) is also a benefit and applicants must be committed to returning to Bermuda within two years of their graduation to work for a minimum of two years and give back to the paediatric community.
They hope that, each year, someone new will be coming back to the island, trained in a field that helps children. They are also hoping to bring on new members for the Committee of 25 board.
“They also may inspire other students to study in this area and eventually, maybe a few of them can join our board here in Bermuda. It would be nice to bring the new generation on,” said Ms Shaya-King.
Would Nurse Bernie recommend a career in paediatric health?
“Absolutely,” she answered. “There’s so many things you can do between teaching special education, paediatric nursing.
“In the hospital, in the neo natal intensive care unit. There is a children’s ward, but luckily not many children are hospitalised anymore, which is great. You’ve got community based paediatrics, physiotherapy, the allied services, which is great to get into.”
In spite of the need for a number of different child healthcare services, Bermuda’s paediatric community is still a strong one.
“We’ve got several paediatricians who are all excellent and there’s a lot of choices. You pick the doctor that fits you,” she said. “I think we’re very lucky here for our paediatric healthcare. It’s a great job.”
The scholarship application deadline is April 30, 2026 and students must have graduated from high school in Bermuda with a minimum GPA of 3.0. For more information visit bermudascholarships.com. For more information about the Committee of 25, visit committeeof25.org.
