By Foday Moriba Conteh
The Ministry of Education, Fourah Bay College Students’ Union Government, have, in an event on campus, awarded tuition grants to deserving female students from different departments of the college.
The partial tuition grants, which came through the support of the Jewel Starfish Foundation, a Liberian-based organization owned by the honorable Vice President of Liberia, were awarded to 25 students this year. This number includes those set of students that benefited from the maiden program in 2020.
The Deputy Registrar, in his statement, urged the beneficiaries of the grants to commit themselves to their academic work and to ensure that they make a difference on campus. He encouraged them to live up to the expectation of H.E. Chief Dr. Jewel Howard-Taylor by simply making sure that they become the change that the world and Sierra Leone specifically truly need.
“You have to count yourselves lucky to benefit from such a laudable gesture from that fine personality,” Bah commended the beneficiaries.
Madam Christiana Lanansa, the Minister of Education, Students’ Union Government, Fourah Bay College, recounted the path the Students’ Union Government trod on to land the Jewel Starfish Foundation in Sierra Leone, particularly Fourah Bay College. She expressed her deepest gratitude to H.E. Howard-Taylor for her seemingly unending zest to empower women in Africa through her organization which is anchored on the mission: “To equip the generation of female leaders with the skills and tools they need to become significant contributors to their communities and society.”
The Minister re-emphasized the need for the beneficiaries to maintain a cordial relationship with one another in order to foster the growth and development of the Foundation on campus. She called on them to join forces with H.E. Howard-Taylor to make the voices of women heard in an Africa that she described as a patriarchal society. She maintained that if their voices were to be heard, they must try to acquire the requisite education during which process they should imbibe the culture of speaking up against the ills of their societies.
In his short statement at the opening of the session, the President of the Students’ Union Government, Alfred Micah Sesay, reminded the students that the grant came as a result of the SUG’s commitment to making sure that deserving female students who are less privileged are accorded the opportunities to acquire their education. She emphasized the need for the students to make great use of the opportunity and encouraged them to take their academic work seriously.
“What you have received today is the wish of many other students on campus,” he stated, “so if you are awarded today, know that your space will be occupied by another student if you do not perform well in your exams.”
On receiving the package of NLe2, 500 each, the beneficiaries expressed their appreciation and assured Jewel Starfish Foundation together with the Students’ Union Government of their commitment to their academic pursuits and of their willingness to work towards the attainment of the Foundation’s mission.
