Cameroon:BONAVADA Rewards 64 Scholars for Academic Excellence

By Christopher Ambe

      Sixty-four (64) primary, secondary and per-university scholars, who are members of the Bonavada, a development association of over 13 villages along the slopes of mount Cameroon, have been rewarded for their academic brilliance, and urged to always take learning as a priority.

Dr. Mbome welcoming Buea DO(backs camera) to the event in Bova

   The prize-award ceremony, which took place recently at GTC Bova in Buea Subdivision, was co-chaired by Dr. Victor Mbome Njie, president of BONAVADA and Paul Kouam, Divisional Officer for Buea

Dr.Mbome Njie said education is solid investment and exhorted the young scholars to always strive for excellence, adding that excellence builds character. He said that the selection for the scholarship was based on objective criteria

The prizes, which included money and didactic materials, were estimated at over 1.5 million FCFA.

   Dr.Mbome Njie announced a special scholarship of 500,000FCFA awarded by US-based Cameroonian, Dr. David Makongo, to two orphans of the Bonavada Community who are students of University of Buea viz: Lyonga Ndive Mclean and Nganje Ndive Albert.

The Bonavada president commended the efforts of all elite of the region that are supportive of the association’s empowerment and development efforts.

  Dr. Ernest Molua, University of Buea lecturer, who presented a discourse titled  “With Excellence, I will Inherit my Tomorrow”, called on the 64 recipients to be focused on their studies in order to be productive (good grades),be disciplined,polite and obedient, noting that such is the green light to success.

   For his part, Professor Ngeve Mbua noted that the Government has given a school in almost every village and advised parents to take advantage of and educate their children. “The Government has made a lot of efforts, please make use of these opportunities”, he told the recipients, advising them to put aside unnecessary things and pursue only good things such as learning. “Education is a long, lonely and frustrating road, but the results are good”, he told the scholars.

    Also speaking, the Divisional Officer for Buea,Paul Kouam,lauded  BONAVADA for the initiative, hoping that it would become a yearly event.

“Education is and should be the priority of our beloved nation. You know that the government is making enormous efforts to build more and more schools”, he said. “It is a good thing for the community to understand that the government cannot do all”

Scholarship recipients in family picture with officials

    The DO faulted some parents who don’t take care of their children-education-and health-wise and implored them to henceforth supply their children with school needs.

To prove that he was actually happy with the scholarship scheme, Mr. Kouam made an instant financial contribution, promising to give more the coming years.

    The beneficiaries - who included not only brilliant but needy scholars -received, in addition to didactic materials, cash prizes from 10,000 to 25,000Fcfa.

[This article also appears in The Recorder Newspaper, Cameroon, of September 27.20130]