Seventy-five students from the operational Area of Aboso GoldFields Limited (AGL) in the Prestea Huni Valley Municipality of the Western Region have been awarded scholarships under Gold Fields Ghana Foundation (GFGF).
Under the scholarship, each beneficiary is expected to receive GH¢6000 annually, totaling $240,000. So far, 749 students from the company’s host communities have benefitted from the scholarship scheme amounting to US$1.04 million. This went into payment of school fees, hostel bills and other academic materials, including laptop computers and textbooks.
Abdel Razak Yakubu, Community Relations and Stakeholders Engagement Manager of AGL, speaking at the awards ceremony at Kyekyewere in the Prestea Huni Valley Municipality of the Western Region explained that: “a good number of students under the scholarship programme have graduated with excellent results”.
This year, he said, the scholarship selection committee made conscious effort in awarding about 49 percent of the scholarships to ladies from the host communities.
“This shows our significant contributions to the achievement of the United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in providing good health, education and the promotion of gender equity” he added.
He said the company believes that the development of the human capital through education and skill development is the most effective tool to overcome poverty in Ghana, particularly in its host communities.
“It is rather unfortunate, a good number of otherwise brilliant youths of these communities are unable to realize their human potential largely due to the lack of financial support to pursue higher education,” he noted.
He pointed out Gold Fields has instituted a number of educational and skills development programmes as an intervention to address this concern. These include the Gold Fields Scholarship Scheme, Graduate Training programme, Community Apprenticeship programme and Heavy Duty Mine Equipment Training programme.
He mentioned that over 967 people from Gold Fields Damang’s host communities have been supported under these programmes since the inception of the Foundation in 2004.
“The foundation will continue to support brilliant students to realize a good measure of their human potential. This will also relief parents of the financial burden that comes with catering for the educational needs of their wards” he added.
Mr. Theophilus Andoh, Head of Counselling Unit at the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) advised the beneficiaries to be discipline and focus on their studies.
“Others are struggling to pay their fees; you have been lucky due to GFGF scholarships. Work hard, improve your performances and be good and faithful ambassadors” he added
Nana Ama Saara II, Queen mother of Subri, also encouraged beneficiaries to be serious with their academic work.
