Six Children Benefit From Lady Patricia Kabbah Scholarship Awards
By Yusuf Alghali

3rd February 2004 - Five girl children and one boy child drawn from various secondary schools across the country have been awarded scholarships at the fifth annual presentation ceremony of the Lady Patricia Kabbah Trust Fund Awards for deserving children. The Lady Patricia Kabbah Trust Fund Award established in memory of the late First Lady targets especially girl children with the highest scores at the National Primary School Examination (NPSE) every year at regional level.

Addressing parents and awardees at the Hill Station Presidential Lodge this morning, Mr. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah Jnr, son of the late Mrs. Kabbah, recognized the exemplary performances of the new beneficiaries at the NPSE and those of continuing awardees at their respective secondary schools.

He observed that ten years of cruel and destructive civil war affected every facet of the Sierra Leone society, including the education sector, wherein countless schools were completely burnt down, furniture used as firewood with pupils and teachers either killed or abducted.

While pointing to efforts by the Ministry of Education and the Government of Sierra Leone to encourage the girl child to go to school, Mr. Kabbah encouraged new awardees to work harder and concentrate on acquitting themselves with excellence as the Lady Patricia Kabbah Trust Fund had now sent out its first candidates for the West African School Certificate Examinations (WASC).

In a statement preceding his presentation of certificates and cheques to cover a range of schooling expenses, President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah first commended Professor Sidi Alghali and others of the Board of Trustees for their successful management of the fund over the past several years. He noted that trustees had been carefully selected and had demonstrated the experience to look after the growth and development of children to make them responsible citizens.

The President described beneficiaries as leaders of tomorrow who had distinguished themselves by working hard and who had been chosen among their peers because of certain outstanding qualities. He thus congratulated both the parents and schoolteachers for their imparting of knowledge and moulding of the children's character.

13 year-old awardee Aminata Sankoh, formerly of the St Philips Primary School in Freetown and now of the Annie Walsh Memorial School, topped the Western Area government assisted schools after scoring 367 marks in the last NPS Exams as Umma Turay of the St Augustine Secondary School scored 312 for the primary division of the same school. Other incoming beneficiaries include Yei Sorgbor of Bonthe District Secondary School, Massah Konneh of Bo, Alimatu Sherrif of Bonthe and 12 year-old Sahr Eric George now of the Albert Academy School in Freetown.