Cameroon:Buea Council Awards Scholarships to 377 Deserving Young Scholars

This is in consonance with Mayor Mbella Moki’s Commitment to Human Capital Development and the UN Millennium Development Goals.

 By Christopher Ambe

Mayor Moki addresses  audience at scholarship ceremony

The Lord Mayor of Buea Council, Charles Mbella Moki, recently again respected his commitment of awarding yearly scholarships to deserving but underprivileged young scholars residing in the Buea Municipality. 

The Buea Council has so far awarded yearly scholarships for eleven good years under the leadership of Mayor Charles Mbella Moki, who is an ardent scholarship advocate.

In fact, since Mr.Mbella Moki assumed the prestigious office of mayor in 2002, a total of –about 2000 young scholars have benefitted from the Buea Council’s Scholarship scheme, amounting to FCFA 40,000,000

Last November 12 at Buea Council premises, this year’s scholarship beneficiaries who totaled 377, ranging from primary school kids to university students including the physically challenged, happily received their scholarships in cash in a public ceremony.

 A total of FCFA 6.480,000 was given out  to beneficiaries -broken down as follows: University students 105, with each receiving FCFA 25,000; Secondary School students 217, with each receiving FCFA 15,000; Primary school pupils 50, with each smiling home with FCFA 10,000.Five(5) physically challenged students each got FCFA 20,000.

A total of 552 applied for this year’s scholarship, but after a thorough review of their applications by the Council’s Education Committee, 377 applicants qualified for it; some 175 files were disqualified for not meeting set down criteria.

Mrs. Ojongkpott Comfort, chairperson of the Buea Council Education Committee and a career educationist, said at the ceremony to award the scholarships that, the selection exercise was guided by objectivity and transparency.

She noted that, to ensure proper coverage of the municipality, circulars were sent to the chiefs of the municipality, who helped in identifying potential laureates. 

Mayor carries pupil-awardee  with more assurance

To qualify for this  year’s scholarship an applicant had to be “socially depraved but academically viable”, Mrs.Ojongkpott told the  crowd of beneficiaries, parents,dignitaries  and the journalists, who turned-up for the event.

 Presiding at the ceremony which took place in the Buea Council Conference Hall, Lord Mayor Buea, Charles Mbella Moki, reiterated that the Scholarship programme “is an annual event to encourage education, fight under-scholarisation, eradicate poverty and achieve universal primary education as outlined in the Millennium Development Goals.”

According to Wikipedia, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight international development goals that were officially established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000. All 193 UN member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve these goals by the year 2015. The goals are:1)-eradicating extreme poverty and hunger,2)-achieving universal primary education,3)-promoting genderequality and empowering women 4)- reducing child mortality rates,5)-improving maternal health,6)-combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases,7)-ensuring environmental sustainability, and 8)-developing a global partnership for development

Mayor Moki strongly advised the beneficiaries to take their education seriously, for it is the solid foundation of a bright future.

“My earnest wish is that one day let the mayor of this town come out from these beneficiaries of this Buea Council Scholarship programme. I wish that many directors, general managers, ministers and many other top-ranking personalities in society should sooner or later emerge from these beneficiaries before me here”, he told  the 377 award recipients, whose parents and or  friends also  turned up to be witnesses of the ceremony.

The Mayor said the amount of money given to each recipient did not matter, stressing that what mattered was the motive behind the grants, which could be used a springboard towards more successes. 

“No matter the amount you receive I am certain that it will impact on your lives”, he said, particularly assuring the pupil beneficiaries: “Little boys, little girls, your future is bright”

Some scholarship beneficiaries in family photo with Mayor

The Mayor recalled, to the delight of the audience, how the Buea Council Scholarship plus his personal assistance, given repeatedly to one underprivileged but deserving scholar up to the university level, has brightened the future of the  said  beneficiary called Wotany  Martin who is  now the  Financial Officer (FO) of  Buea Council. Mr.Wotany is now married, has a child and has built a house for his family, thanks partially to the scholarship scheme.

Presenting Mr. Wotany to the public, the Mayor remarked, “This is a face that never knew how to smile but he now smiles”. The Mayor’s remark caused Mr.Wotany to smile broadly, attracting applause from the new beneficiaries and parents.

Several beneficiaries, who spoke to The Recorder, said they would use the scholarship and the fatherly words of advice of the mayor to shoot into prominence by transforming their dreams into realities.