By Walter Wilson Nana
Authorities of the Buea Council have placed scholarship amongst their priorities. For eleven years, nonstop, the Buea Council have maintained a scholarship programme for the underprivileged but deserving students in the municipality.
Recently, at the Buea Council Chamber, FCFA 6.480.000 was doled out to some 377 beneficiaries out of a 552 applications that were sent in by all the chiefs of the Buea Subdivision. The beneficiaries included 105 university students, 217 secondary school students, 50 pupils and 5 handicapped.
Charles Mbella Moki, Buea Mayor comforts a pupil who's a beneficiary
According to Comfort Ojongnpot, Councillor and Chair of the Education Committee, Buea Council, they are out to promote education to those members of their community that cannot afford it with ease. “That’s why we introduced some criteria to effectively get the bracket of denizens we’re interested in,” she noted.
Charles Mbella Moki, Mayor, Buea Municipality said the Buea Council Scholarship programme is not a joking matter, adding that they have many examples of successful and previous beneficiaries to show. “One of them is Martin Wotany, who is now a top official in the Finance Department of the Buea Council, which we fished out thanks to this scholarship scheme. Wotany like others are men and women of their own today. We’ll not stop if God gives us life,” he mentioned.
Mbella Moki said education is the passport for the future, “So, we’re glad to put into proper use the money of the people of Buea. We are giving hope to where there has been despair, so that our children can also make a better life. Let a Mayor of Buea come from their lot someday. Let a Minister, a Director, the President of the Republic come from these children in the years ahead.”
Comfort Ojongnpot, Head of the Education Committee, Buea Council welcoming the beneficiaries, their parents and guests
The Buea Council boss said the initiative is not theirs, not the Mayor but an international call to address the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs numbers two and three respectively. “This is a call for the whole world to achieve. We in Buea are not left out, especially in the area of promoting the girl child. We’ve to eradicate extreme poverty, discrimination and provide universal primary education to the girl and boy child. For our 11-year sojourn in the Buea Council, we’ve been consistent in our approach towards education and progressively address the scholarship needs of our community – nursery to the varsity levels.”
He expressed gratitude to the community members, especially the Chiefs and the Buea Councillors for making the scheme another success story. “No one is useless in the community. We’re coming with hope in place of desperation. Let all our community members have something to offer. We’re in search of all potential talents and give them an opportunity to excel and allow their innate qualities to flourish thanks to our scholarship strategy. No one should fee rejected,” the Buea Mayor noted.
A family pic of Buea Council authorities & the beneficiaries
A beneficiary, Marie Limunga Evakise, an orphan and a student of Frankfils College, Buea, expressed joy and the timeliness for the scholarship, especially at this time that they are registering for the 2013 GCE Ordinary Level Examination. “With this scholarship at my disposal, I will not get into the late registration mess any longer. Big thanks to the Mayor and his Councillors,” she said.
Oben Tabe Ndip a student of Bilingual Grammar School, Molyko, Buea knew what to do with his money. “Some of my text books are not there. With this gesture from the Buea Council, I will rush for them immediately. I thank the Mayor for what he has been doing for us. He shouldn’t stop. Even God knows and likes what he is doing,” he mentioned.
