Minister Fuh Calistus Gentry, elite of the division, through his Donga Mantung Scholarship Fund-DOMASF assisted 368 students and pupils drawn from all the five Subdivisions, ahead of school reopening on Monday, September 6, 2021.
The groundbreaking ceremony chaired by the Senior Divisional Officer for Donga Mantung, Dr. Simon Nkwenti Doh witnessed amongst other innovative activities, the distribution of school materials to an additional 250 needy students and pupils, the award of excellence to meritorious students, the support to orphans – victims of the crisis, and the allocation of seed fund to young entrepreneurs. In programming the scholarship [second edition] to fall on the eve of the 2021/2022 back to school, DOMASF’s intention was to be a booster to President Biya’s educational policy which aims at making sure all Cameroonian children have access to quality education.
This year’s scholarship event of September 4, 2021 rewarded meritocracy, ranging from Primary School to High school levels, and involved all the schools in the division. In each of the categories, three best pupils or students were rewarded for each subdivision. The best pupils in the First School Leaving Certificate Exams for each subdivision received cash prizes of 50.000 FCFA each for the first, 40.000 for the second position and 30.000 for the third position. At the GCE Ordinary Level and the GCE Intermediate categories, the best students three students received 100.000 for the first position, 70.000 for the second position, and 50.000 FCFA for the third positions respectively. In the Advanced Levels General and Advanced level Intermediate, the best three students in each sub division in the two categories bagged the sum of 150.000 for the first, 100.000 for the second and 50.000 FCFA for the third position. Also, 31 orphans – victims of the crisis received 50.000 FCFA each. Besides that, over 250 needy students and pupils were gifted bags and school materials for a hitch free back to school.
The greatest innovation at this year’s award ceremony was the support to young entrepreneurs. Two best ideas were picked per sub division from a total number of 300 ideas, and each of the selected ideas was awarded the sum of 500.000 FCFA to kickstart their businesses. This amounted to over 15 million francs minus organizational charges and transportation. Offering the scholarship is Dr. Fuh Calistus’s way of giving back to society, encouraging performance, and excellence.
Speaking during the event, Dr. Simon Nkwenti Doh lauded the benefactor’s effort, saying the initiative is worth emulating. He said the more you educate people, the less crime there would be in society. Before handing over the cash prizes and the school needs to the beneficiaries, the SDO urged beneficiaries to study hard so as to encourage the donor to continue to give. He applauded Dr. Fuh Calistus Gentry for his continued efforts for 14 years.
J.V.
