Two students living with the sickle-cell disease and who are attending tertiary institutions have received financial assistance totalling $160,000 from the LIME Foundation.

The money is to assist the two with the cost of their tuition for the 2012-2013 academic year.

The bursary scheme, which was launched by the Lime Foundation in 2006 in partnership with the Sickle Cell Unit at the University of the West Indies, Mona, assists students with the disease who have to contend with their regular school-related expenses plus the cost of health care and medication.

Coy Hall, who is pursuing a degree programme in the Faculty of Humanities and Education at the University of the West Indies, was awarded $80,000.

Tariq Edwards, who attends the University of Technology and is undertaking a course in electrical engineering, was also awarded $80,000.

"These are individuals who are trying to reach their full potential despite the challenge they face from having to deal with the sickle-cell disease," noted chairman of the LIME Foundation, Errol K. Miller, as he presented the awards.

"We know that they will have more medical expenses than the average student and this is our way of giving them a hand," added Miller.

He noted that the bursary scheme was a continuation of LIME's long association with the Jamaica Sickle Cell community.

The Company has provided assistance to the Sickle Cell Foundation in several areas over many years, including providing the $7 million which was used to build the Sickle Cell Education Centre at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus in 1995.

The sickle-cell bursaries are awarded annually and are open to Jamaican residents with the disease (not the trait) who have been accepted at any post-secondary skills training establishment or any degree- or diploma-granting institution registered with the University Council of Jamaica.