By Mustapha Kamara Jnr
In a bid to complement the effort of the government of Sierra Leone, Mercury International, through its charitable foundation, has provided scholarships for over one thousand pupils and students from different schools and tertiary institutions across the country.
This was recently disclosed by Samir Hassanyeh, CEO of Mercury International. He told a press conference that the grants that were been given to students and pupils who had applied in 2014 were a continuation of a process that the company started the since 2007.
“We have already given over one billion leones in Scholarship,” Hassanyeh said, adding that the program would continue under the company’s educational programs which aimed at boosting education in the country.
Beneficiaries were from Buxton Primary School, Ahmadiyya Muslim Primary School, Cape Community Primary School, Akibo Betts Municipal Junior School, Milton Margai College of Education and Technology, Freetown Teacher’s College, Port Loko Teachers College, College of Travel and Tourism, Aviation United Vocational Institute, Institute of Business and Technology, Njala University, University of Makeni, Crown University, the constituent colleges under the University of Sierra Leone, among others.
Meanwhile, Mr Hassanyeh said that Mercury was planning to embark on medical assistance, a program he said would provide aid for sick people who could not afford to pay for treatment overseas.
“Over the years the company has sent people to different countries around the world for treatment,” he disclosed.
Also, the CEO of Mercury International revealed that the company was planning to start supporting churches and Mosques in the country.
He went further to assure Sierra Leoneans that his sport betting company would continue to adhere to its corporate social responsibilities and provide more support to the needy and worthy courses in the country.
Mohamed S. Fofana, a student from the College of Medicine and Allied Science of the University of Sierra Leone, a beneficiary of the scholarship, said he was surprised to be among other beneficiaries.
“I feel happy,” he told Politico. He explained that the scholarship would go to paying part of his tuition fee, which he said cost over two million Leones.
Fofana called on Mercury to consider giving out International scholarship to students who were doing well at different tertiary institutions in the country, so that they can further their education.
(C) Politico 30/03/16
