HELP’S AT HAND

HELP’S AT Hand, by North
Shore Community Services
(NSCS), is a Forum for discuss-
ing government policies and
Programs, benefits, consumer
and legal rights, taxation and
public.services.

Answers are intended only as
a general guide and should not
be applied to individual cases
without further consultation.

Question: I read fast week's
column about student loans
and I have a concern about
repayment. = have nearly
finished my education, for
which I've received a loan, and
because of limited employment
Opportunities in my field, I'm
worried that I won't be able to
Start payments right away.
What should I do?

Answer: Fortunately, under
your student loan agreement,
your payments will not begin
until six months after you cease
to be a full-time student. If
you are still unable to begin
payments after the six month
period, you can postpone your
payments further under the In-
terest Relief Program.

You can apply for interest
telief through your bank. If
approved, the federal govern-

ment will pay the interest on
your loan @r three month
periods, up to a@ maximum of
18 months. You must re-apply
for each period.

After the maximum interest
relief period, you have no
choice but to begin regular
loan payments. Your monthly
payments will be set according
to the longest possible payment
term, which means they will be
the lowest amount possible.

This doesn’t mean that you
cannot pay more if you can af-
ford to. If you are able to pay
a lump sum on your principal,
which is the outstanding
balance of your loan, this is a
good idea as it will help to
reduce your interest costs.

As the Help’s At Hand col-
umn explained last week, your
loan consists of money from
both the federal and provincial
governments. For the portion
of the money that is loaned to
you from the B.C. Student
Assistance Program, the inter-
est rate will be set at the prime
rate plus 1%. For instance, if
the bank is lending money to
its prime customers at 10.5%,
your rate will te set at 31.5%.
The Canada Student Loan por-

tion of the loan interest rate is
set on Aug. § of each year, and
will be set in the year during
which vou begin repayment.

According to the Bank of
Montreal student loan centre, a
demand notice will be sent to
you if you miss payments. fH
will ask that you contact them
within 21 days, or your loan
will be forwarded to the gov-
ernment for collection; who
will in turn forward it to a col-
lection agency. Policies may
vary slightly between banks,
but it is safe to say that late or
missed payments won’t be tol-
erated for long.

To avoid unpleasant experi-
ences with a collection agency,
make sure that you contact
your loan officer if you foresee
having to miss or make a late
payment. Creditors are usually
understanding of difficult cir-
cumstances if they are given.
sufficient’ notice, and an
agreement can be reached for
resuming your regular payment
schedule.

This column is prepared with
financial assistance from the
Notary Foundation. For more
information call NSCS at 985-
7138,

NV art students awarded scholarships

TWO CARSON Graham Second-
ary school art students are the
first recipients of scholarships
handed out by the North Van-
couver School District 44’s
(NYSB) Artists for Kids Trust
program.

Kwakwee Baker has been
awarded the Bill Reid Scholarship
while Tania Biali is the first reci-
pient of the Gordon Smith Schol-
arship. Both are graduating Grade
12 students and each scholarship

is worth $500,

Both students plan to pursue
education in art.

The scholarships are open to all
District 44 graduating students in
the field of art. This is the first
year the annual scholarships have
been awarded.

The NVSB has been involved in
the pilot project in which the
school district purchases original
paintings from such well-known
artists as Bill Reid, Gordon Smith

and Robert Bateman.

Schools sell the paintings to the
general public and the profit goes
back to the NVSB, although the
trust keeps the interest from the
profits to be used to develop fine
arts programs for North Van-
couver schools.

Part of the program includes an
Art Enrichment sector in which
artists come into local schools to
work with both teachers and stu-
dents.

Sunday, July 21, 1991 ~ North Shore News ~ 19

Families sought for
exchange students

NACEL CANADA, a non-profit
organization, is looking for North
Shore families to host French stu-
dents from Tuesday, July 30 to
Tuesday, Aug. 27.

There are still nine students,
aged 16 to 19, who need acc-
ommodations. The arrival date is
drawing near and organizers say if
they don’t hear from volunteers
soon, some students may be
disappointed. ‘‘Nacel France is
looking to us for help so they
don’t have to tell the students that
they can't come,’’ says coor-
dinator Gaye Lefaivre.

The program is designed for
language and cultural immersion.
Students join host families for one
month, participate in regular daily
activities, and share common inter-

Families are not required to
speak French or have teenagers of
their own to become hosts, al-
though this would be ideal.
Through the program, Canadian
children often become more inter-
ested in other countries, languages
and cultures.

There is no monetary remunera-
tion offered, but the cultural ex-
change can be enriching, and it’s a
good chance to create new friend-
ships.

This year French families will
be hosting over 60 teenagers from
B.C. Says Lefaivre, ‘* | hope we
can find it in our hearts to
reciprocate this kind gesture and
open our homes to their
children.”

For more information call 922-

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