Support to the Needy:

Buea Council Galvanizes Students for School Resumption

-Donates School Needs, Scholarships, other materials to over 1200 Students & Pupils in Buea

By Boris Esono in Buea

Mayor Ekema Pat in snap shot with beneficiaries of his back to school largesse

Some one thousand two hundred and forty four (1240) students and pupils in the Buea municipality have received didactic materials to assist them to begin the new school year that begins on Monday, 3 September 2018. The donation which also included scholarships (school fees) to some deserving students, took place Friday at the Buea council chambers.

            The materials comprised of chalk, books, pens, rulers, hoes, wheel barrows, wheel chairs, pik axes, watering cans were donated to three categories of students; the needy, meritorious and the physically challenged.

            Speaking during the donation exercise, the Mayor of Buea, Ekema Patrick Esunge said the materials donated are intended to motivate the children for back to school and also encourage parents to send their children to schools.

            “We have given the students and pupils didactic materials and money to take care of their registration. We also donated farm equipment and other materials to help the parents. We expect this gesture to also motivate activities of some needy parents, who should not say my child cannot go to school because there is no money. Families of fallen soldiers were not forgotten. We handed to each child of a fallen soldier, didactic materials and the sum of FCFA 25000,” Mayor Ekema revealed.

            He explained that “when the crisis engulfed Buea and the entire region almost two years ago, we organized free holiday classes, scholarship schemes, gave holiday jobs to students, granted assistance to schools and collages as well as sponsored a plethora of other academic programs. From the feedback we got, the good performance of the students and pupils that benefitted from our assistance tells of the impact our action has had on these students. 

Mayor Ekema enjoined parents to join hands with government to make schools resumption effective.

          

Mayor Ekema and some council staff pose with beneficiary pupils & students

  “It is the responsibility of parents and guardians to be part of the school re-opening process. Parents have a duty to work in conjunction with the administration and the forces of law and order to preserve state institutions as well as the sovereignty of the country. We have been faced with challenges posed by misguided and opportunistic secessionists, who have been on the onslaught terrorizing people and destroying lives and property. The history of ghost towns, burning of schools and other public structures as well as attempts on human lives shall become issues of the past in just a while,” Mayor Ekema assured.

            Because the waves of violence in Buea and other localities are caused by unidentified persons moving on motorcycles, Mayor Ekema Patrick has ordered a temporary ban of commercial motorbikes in the municipality till further notice.

            “The high rate of insecurity in the town marked by kidnappings and abductions are facilitated by motor-bike riders. From now henceforth any motor-bike, be it commercial or private, found circulating within the municipality shall be impounded and the owner severely sanctioned,” Ekema warned.

            The beneficiary students and pupils expressed joy for the gesture, saying it will go a long way in assisting them in the new school year.

            “If some of us were able to succeed last academic year it was because of the extra lessons we received during the last holiday classes organized by the Buea council. I want to sincerely thank the Buea council and the Mayor in particular, for this other wonderful gesture of providing us our school needs and registration money,” said one of the beneficiaries.

            A total of 12 government colleges, 17 primary schools and 34 Nursery schools benefitted the council’s largesse this year. 100 University students were awarded a cash prize of FCFA 25,000 each, while 25 others who were holiday jobbers and interns, were given cash prizes of FCFA 50,000 each donated by PMUC in partnership with the council.

            In sum, 740 pupils amongst whom are 47 physically challenged, 372 secondary/high school students and 127 university students were donated didactic materials and tricycles to help them to prepare and start off the new academic year.

            It should be noted that every year, the Buea council organizes a six-in-one program which involves holiday classes, scholarship scheme, holiday jobs, inter quarter football tournament. Unfortunately, due to the ongoing crisis in the region, some of the program could not take place this year.