Two Barbadians, one belief: potential should never be wasted.

Mark and Sonia Corbin grew up knowing that ability alone is rarely enough. Careers took them to the United Kingdom, but Barbados never stopped being home.

Markonia Foundation is how they have chosen to give back to Barbados — practically, personally and for the long term.

The foundation is deliberately small and focused. Every pound is aimed at a specific moment in a young person's life where support changes the outcome.

The Corbins currently live and work in the United Kingdom where they have resided for over 25 years.  

Both Mark and Sonia are graduates and former employees of the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic - now Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology (SJPI) and received their secondary education at the Princess Margaret and Springer Memorial Secondary Schools.

In Barbados, as everywhere, the cost of the first year of further education stops capable young people before they start. Tuition, books, uniforms and equipment add up long before a student ever earns from their skill.

We focus there because it is the point where a modest, well-timed gift changes an entire trajectory.