WHEN student Zeenath Begum Ahmad, 14, received a letter from Sri Ruthra Kaliamman Temple, she raced to tell her mother.
Together they learnt that her bursary application to the Hindu temple in Depot Road had been successful.
The fact that the student is Muslim had not mattered.
'It's very good encouragement, and I'm glad they even include other races and religions,' said Zeenath.
She received her bursary yesterday along with 110 other primary and secondary students, who were selected from 25 schools near the temple.
Besides giving the awards, the Sri Ruthra Kaliamman Temple also organises food drives and visits to old folks' homes, and serves as a place for workshops and yoga classes.
The temple's secretary, Dr V. Theyvendran, said the scholarship and bursary awards are mainly for Hindu students, 'but if non-Hindus apply, we don't reject them if they are eligible'.
Bursaries go to students who have good grades and come from families earning no more than $2,000.
The awards include both scholarships and bursaries worth $150 to $400. A total of $28,000 was given out this year.
This is the 13th year that the temple has handed out awards to students.
Dr Theyvendran said the money comes from the temple's fund as well as individual and corporate donors.
Scholarship recipient Gobi Ramalingam, 14, was one of two to get the top award - a scholarship worth $400.
This is the eighth year that he has received an award from the temple. He said the money will go to his mathematics tuition.
Meanwhile Zeenath, who attends Gan Eng Seng School, said she hopes to be a doctor and take care of her ailing mother.
She told The Straits Times that the bursary would go a long way, as her mother, who used to be a cleaner, has been ill and unable to work.
'I want to study hard so I can take care of my mother,' she said.
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