The Chief Minister of Sierra Leone Jacob Jusu Saffa has in a well-attended ceremony held at the Njala University applauded Orange Mobile Company for always providing the needs of people living in Sierra Leone.
Orange Mobile Company through its Foundation on Friday 23rd July, 2021 added in the history books of Njala University by providing a 500KVA brand new generator to enhance quality of Education at the University.
The Chief Minister, Jacob Jusu Saffa thanked Orange Sierra Leone and gave a background of the donation of the generator to Njala University stating that it took Orange less than 10 minutes to give approval for the provision of the 500KVA generator to the university.
Jacob Jusu Saffa told the gathering that the Government of President Bio has taken over the ambitious Human Capital Development to address the issues of underlining poverty which according to him has a direct correlation with illiteracy. He showcased the developmental efforts of the Government of President Bio in addressing the issues around staff salary, backlogs and increments and also the huge expenditures towards the Free Quality Education flagship project.
Mrs. Millicent Mamy Alie, Senior Lecturer at School of Agriculture & Food Science, expressed her gratitude to Orange Sierra Leone for their timely intervention in addressing one of the biggest challenges which Njala University is facing. The chairperson in a very happy mood said that “the person who gives light gives life, and that is what Orange has done for Njala University”, she asserted.
Professor Andrew Baimba, Acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Njala University in thanking Orange for the wonderful gesture of donating a 500KVA generator to the University. He added that Njala University was established in 1964 as the constituent unit of the University of Sierra Leone and later became a University in 2005 pursuant to the 2005 University’s Act.
He further told the Chief Minister and his delegation that Njala has never benefitted from the national grid and this according to him has continued to cripple the finances of the University over the years as it spends quantum of monies to generate water and electricity across its campuses. He lauded the Office of the Chief Minister for swiftly coming to the aid of Njala University at a beckon to provide a 500KVA generator to Njala Campus.
He thanked Orange Sierra Leone which according to him has been at the service of Njala University in the past years providing furniture for schools, ICT equipment for the Njala University hospital among others, and urged the representatives of Orange Sierra Leone present at the ceremony to convey the sincere gratitude of his Administration to the Chief Executive Officer, Orange Sierra Leone, Madam Aminata Kane Ndiaye.
Minister of Information and Communications Mohamed Rado Swarray assured the University that his Ministry has given very strong attention to the provision of internet connectivity to the University and that a team from his Ministry has already done the feasibility studies.
He also thanked Orange for the quick response to support Njala University with such a wonderful boost.
In handing over of the 500KVA generator to the University, Ms. Jestina Betts, Director Orange Foundation Sierra Leone said with digitization of educational methods, there is an increased dependence on modern gadgets and electronic devices, and hence on the power supply needed to run these systems. “Teaching cannot be effective in the absence of power. Universities all over the world are getting tech savvy, allowing handled devices into lecture rooms and incorporating them into lesson plans and this has increased the dependency on electricity supply to ensure students get quality education”. It is against that backdrop Orange Foundation is donating and handing over a 500KVA generator that will support Njala University address the growing need for adequate power supply.
The Head of Orange Foundation further dilated that Orange believes strongly that education and human capital development will be one of the strongest levers for growth in Sierra Leone. That is why “we were the 1st company to pledge the sum of 1.5 million dollars in material support for a period of 5 years to the Government’s Free Quality Education (FQE) drive. We have recently constructed 3 ultra-modern ECD schools in Kambia, Moyamba and Pujehun under our FQE commitment,” she noted.
Madam. Betts told her audience that as “a company we do not only put premium on quality and efficiency in service-delivery, we also take pride in giving back to Mama Salone. Over the last decade, we have rendered numerous support to Njala University, citing donation of 500Pcs of desks and chairs to Njala University Bo Campus, donation of 1,000Pcs of desks and chairs to both campuses, donation of ICT equipment for University Science and ICT Lab- Desktop Computers, rack and servers to Njala Henry Street campus, food items to students’ resident on campus whose locations were affected by Ebola, IT equipment and materials for creation of Health Information System at Njala University Hospitals on all campuses- Desktops, Printers, Scanners, photocopiers, printing cartridges, 5CTNs of Box Files and 50Pcs for filing of documents etc.
She finally called on the beneficiaries to guard and protect the generator for it to create the required impact.
The vote of thanks was delivered by the University Registrar, Dr. Muneer Jalloh who thanked Orange Sierra Leone for the gesture and the Chief Minister, Jacob Jusu Saffa, for facilitating the process.
The event was climaxed with the official commissioning of the 500KVA generator by the Chief Minister.
