Grant applications – She wins, he loses. insults fly

SOCIAL NETWORKS in Panama are buzzing with the contrasting stories of two applicants for government grants to study abroad, one a student from a poor neighborhood in Pedregal, the other the niece of a government vice minister.

 Aturndown for a $58,000 grant for pilot training came for Raphael Buchanan who was accepted by an American university.
The niece, Elizabeth Grimaldo, got  $140,000 lto study film in Los Angeles.
The story got legs on Twitter after she tweeted “Rats can’t stand highs” for which she later apologized claiming it was intended for someone insulting her family
TeleMetro reported: “ Raphael Buchanan’s dream is to be a pilot, but although the President of the Republic, Juan Carlos Varela gave the order for financial aid, the Institute for Training and Development of Human Resources (IFARHU), has closed the doors.

“The fight for the dream began in July 2014, Raphael went to the Presidency of the Republic to talk to President Juan Carlos Varela who immediately gave the order for this young man is to get support, news he received in two weeks “faster than I thought”; after gaining admission by the University in the US where he wants to study, however, has not managed to get IFARHU economic assistance even though the institution received a letter from the University.

“He explained that he spoke several times with the deputy director of IFARHU, Carlos Rubio, who initially assured him that he would help, but weeks later when he called again nobody gave him an answer and worse, he was sworn at by Rubio’s secretary who said: ‘don’t call my boss any more’ ”

“The frustration of this humble young man, a native of the district of San Joaquin, Pedregal, is that economic assistance is his only option to study and he does not have the resources even to apply for loan option, because the regulations IFARHU provides that when the amount is over $ 30,000, there must be a co-signer in Panama.”
La Estrella wrote: “Rats can’t stand heights “, this was the Twitter published yesterday by the singer Elizabeth Grimaldo.
“It caused several reactions from her followers who reproached her commentary, after the Institute for Training and Development of Human Resources (IFARHU), awarded her a scholarship to study film in the United States and denied one to Raphael Buchanan, who wants to study aviation in that country and had been accepted by the university. Elizabeth Grimaldo, niece of a vice minister received $140,000 from IFARHU to study film in Los Angeles, California, while Raphael Buchanan was denied $58,000.
“To the remarks against her, Elizabeth Grimaldo posted a message on her social network offering an Elizabeth Grimaldo apology. ‘I apologize for the Twitter comment of rats, It was for a specific person who was insulting my family,’”