ISLAMABAD, March 17: The US government on Monday announced scholarships for two Pakistani women students of Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU) in memory of Barbara Green and her daughter, Kristen Wormsley, who died in the Protestant International Church attack last year.

“We hope to honour Kristen’s dreams in this way and light a small lamp of knowledge and hope,” US ambassador to Pakistan Nancy J. Powell said while announcing the scholarship.

She was speaking at a remembrance ceremony held for victims of the Islamabad Church attack which occurred on March 17, 2002.

Attended by the staff of the US embassy, the ceremony was held at the Raphel Gardens inside the compound of the embassy. Besides, Ms Powell laid a bouquet of flowers at the memorial plaque of both women.

Vice-Chancellor of Fatima Jinnah Women University Dr Najma Najam was also present on the occasion.

Five persons, including Barbara Jean Green and her daughter Kristen Wormsley, were killed in a grenade attack on the church situated in the Diplomatic Enclave.

Forty-one people, including Sri Lankan ambassador Srilal Weerasooriya and his wife Dilhani, were injured.

Ms Powell said colleagues and friends from the US mission had raised funds to provide scholarships to two Pakistani students of the Fatima Jinnah Women University for a four-year study programme.

In addition to this, the embassy also announced the Barbara Green Award which would be given annually to a mission employee, who made a significant contribution to raising the morale of the US mission community.

This award recognizes and remembers Barbara’s consistent efforts to enhance the well-being of the entire US mission, Ms Powell said.

The ambassador also quoted the statement of US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who had said both Barbara and Kristen embodied the values of so many foreign service families around the world, close friendships with the people of the country to which they were posted and a dedication to making the world a better place.

She said though many of the Americans now in Islamabad did not know Barbara and Kristen, “we join with their many friends and colleagues in remembering their vibrant spirits and their many contributions to the life of our mission community”.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Najma Najam thanked the ambassador and the embassy staff for the scholarships and said these would support the education of two young undergraduate students of her university.

She said the scholarships had linked people of different countries, religions, colours and creed. She said this contribution would bring a difference in the lives of the Green family, not just today, but for ever.

“This is the continuity of human relationships that helps us move on,” she said, adding that this would connect women who did not know each other.