By Amin Kef Sesay
Three Sierra Leonean students have been awarded scholarships to study in various fields at the Belgrade University in Serbia, facilitated by the Dr. Adonis Abboud, the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Serbia.
The three students are Dauda James, who will travel to pursue his Master’s study in the field of Agricultural Economics, Massah Feigbo Daboh and Doris Augusta Tarawallie both going to study Medicine and they will stay for six years until they complete their course at the University of Belgrade.
Dr. Adonis Abboud, the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Serbia in an interview disclosed that the scholarship program started in the 1970 and the 80s, furthering how till now a total number of twenty-six Sierra Leonean students have benefited from the scholarship program. According to him, many of the graduates are now in strategic stations in life ranging from the Civil Service, among others and they are contributing immensely to national development, as a way to give back to the country what they have learned abroad.
He further disclosed that the selection process is always done in Sierra Leone by the Ministry of Education and the recipients would undergo several procedures and medicals in order to adapt to the weather conditions while they are studying in Serbia.
Dr. Adonis Abboud added that the students will act as Ambassadors whiles in Europe and advertise the beauty of Sierra Leone which will attract tourists and investors.
“Education is a primary tool for the development of Sierra Leone and this is one tiny contribution among others,” Dr. Adonis said maintaining that in terms of available healthcare and health status, Sierra Leone is rated very poorly.
Globally, infant and maternal mortality rates remain among the highest, he revealed, adding how the health service has recently been described as “stretched far beyond capability”.
“Many of the senior doctors had succumbed to Ebola and the Corona pandemic. Forty out of 60 students at the University of Sierra Leone’s Provost of the College of Pharmacology, Medicine and Allied Health Sciences were forced to abandon their studies after many ran out of money to pay their fees,” he informed.
Dilating on agriculture, he said, it is the economic and cultural mainstay of Sierra Leone – rice and cassava, drought-tolerant crops, are staples in a typical Sierra Leonean diet.
He said although agriculture is crucial, sustainable agriculture in Sierra Leone is unfortunately inadequate.
Talking to the beneficiaries, they informed this medium that the scholarship program will help improve the country’s medical and agricultural sectors among others when they would have completed their courses.
They also thanked the Government of Serbia, the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of Sierra Leone through the Ministry of Education for giving them such a golden opportunity to study abroad.
