SANNIQUELLIE, Nimba – Education authorities in Nimba have raised US$1,643 to complete the Nimba County School Board Guest House project, started back in 2017. The total includes L$394,790 and US$105 raised at a well-attended fundraising ceremony held on Saturday, March 14 at Tubman Hall in Sanniquellie.

In remarks by the chairman for the House’s Committee on Education and Nimba’s ninth electoral district representative, Johnson Gwaikolo, special thanks were given to the Nimba County School System for embarking upon such a worthwhile project which will house staffers of the local education office and add value to the education system of the county.

Rep. Gwaikolo also emphasized the importance of education, calling it a human right. The facility, he said, will improve the safety and general conditions of accommodation for educators so that they may focus on molding the minds of students in Nimba.

“Every child has that right and should be given that right to go to school,” Gwaikolo said. “Because what he or she learns today is not only for personal benefit but the benefit of the society as a whole. What they learn today cannot be taken from them; it remains with them perpetually. What they learn today [will] help to emancipate them; it sets their minds free to think more and become creative and become innovative and do new things to improve society. What they learn today broadens their horizon. So education is important. Having a facility that will house the workers in the education system of this county will go a long way for Nimba County.”

The Nimba Legislative Caucus co-chair then promised to lobby with his colleagues to allocate more funding to complete the project during the pending County Development Council sitting. Gwaikolo personally presented L$50,000 as an initial contribution to the project’s completion, while cautioning against the misapplication of funds.

Also speaking at the fundraiser was the Nimba County School Board chair, Patrick Luogon Lah, who provided a brief overview of the project, which he said was the outcome of a consensus between education stakeholders in Nimba in 2017. Lah put the total cost of the project at a little over L$11 million (US$60,000), noting that only US$30,000 has been raised to bring the project to its current status.

The challenge, therefore, to the county leadership, teachers, local education authorities and education partners, was to raise the additional US$30,000 needed to complete the project.

Nimba is rich in iron ore, gold, diamond and forest commodities, Lah said. But many of these materials are non-renewable and will eventually become depleted. But the human resource, he said, will remain for long. Therefore, Nimba must do everything necessary to invest in education.

Lah concluded his remarks by noting how long it has been since the county administration last allocated any substantial resources to education in the county. He, therefore, appealed to the Nimba Legislative Caucus and the county administration for more resources, promising to be fully transparent and accountable for all funds provided to the project.

Featured photo by Jerry Myers