By Mohamed Foday Conteh
Mercury International and the Martin Michael Family have donated the sum of Le 100 million to the management of the Dr. Kadi A. Sesay Girls Secondary School in Port Loko District, North-Western Sierra Leone to boost the operations of the school.
The all-girls school was built and furnished by the betting company in support of the government’s flagship program the Free Quality Education and was handed over to the government of Sierra Leone last year on the 8th of October, exactly a year when the managing Director made the cash donation to the school last Friday.
“I have a soft spot for this school. This school means a lot to me because it is a girls’ school,” he said.
In addition to the cash donation, Michael also presented 3,000 (three thousand) exercise books from Print Point (SL) Limited and Ankara, Turkey designed bags to the pupils.
He said the building of the school is the largest singlehanded corporate social responsibility project his company has ever embarked on.
The Managing Director admonished the pupils to treat their school work with seriousness. He advised them to be studious because he envisioned them to be the future leaders. “You are the present and the future,” he said.
The donation is to be used for renovation of the school and other administrative challenges.
The Resident Minister for North-Western Region, Haja Isata Kamara said that the construction of the school last year was timely. She said the region was in a desperate need of a girls’ school, being one of the newest regions in the country.
She appreciated the President for listening to her request for the construction of the school during his 2019 Thank You Tour of Port Loko district.
The Minister said that the school was named after Dr. Kadi Sesay because she is an indigene of Rhombe Village, Lokomasama Chiefdom in Port Loko district. She added that Dr. Sesay was the first woman from the region to be certified with a Doctor in Philosophy (PhD) degree. She said that Dr. Sesay had also served as a minister under then administration of late President Dr. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.
Principal of the school, Marion Malia Jiba expressed her gratitude to Mercury International. She said the school started with only 48 pupils but now has 120 pupils. The principal stated that they have 12 trained and qualified teachers that render their service to the school.
The Regent Paramount Chief of Bakeh Loko Chiefdom, Foday Santigie Kanu said he was delighted to participate in the school's celebration. He said the people of his chiefdom are also delighted for the establishment of the school. He appreciated the government's commitment to education and added that the school is a manifestation of human capital development. He praised the school authorities for their maintenance of the school.
Head of the Community Teachers' Association (CTA), Abdulai Yollah Bangura said the school has also benefited parents in the community and its establishment important for girl child education in the district. He added that the CTA body has also created a Basket Fund to assist the school with some of its needs. He told the gathering of the pledge he has made to the school and that the fund indicates that the development of the school is not only for the government but CTA also.
Juliet M. Fatorma, a JSS two pupil who was also made Minister of Works on the said day said that she was happy to be admitted into the school because it is girl’s school. She said she was attending the Holy Rosary Secondary in Kenema, Eastern Sierra Leone before being admitted to the school in the second term of the previous academic year. The pupil encouraged her colleagues to treat their academic work with seriousness. “Education for a girl is good,” she said.
The school administration awarded some of the hardworking pupils into administrative positions during celebratory performances. With the help of the Mercury Managing Director, the Regent Chief and Chairman of the CTA, the school chose their first head girl and her deputy together with other prefects.
Copyright © Politico Online 11/10/21
