The Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) has announced that it will continue to invest in educational interventions and other development schemes within its operational communities. These interventions will include scholarships in engineering programmes, the provision of educational materials to students, infrastructure development, and environmental support.
Speaking to Citi News in Bolgatanga, BOST’s Corporate Social Responsibility and Protocol Manager, Yaw Antwi-Dadzie, said the company’s educational intervention is geared at improving the learning outcomes of students in the communities where BOST operates.
“We believe that one of the best ways to help our community is to impact the area of education because the children in the community attend these schools. Therefore, if you do something to support these children, you are invariably touching everyone in the community. We believe that it is part of gaining our social licence to operate in the community, and we see the community as our partner. So, we are here to donate books to all our public basic schools that surround our depot area, and each student is going to receive five (5) exercise books.”
Mr. Antwi-Dadzie stated that BOST has already donated over 50,000 exercise books to schools in the Northern sector, and that the company plans to donate a total of 100,000 exercise books to schools near its depots across the country.
In addition to providing educational materials, BOST has also initiated a scholarship scheme for brilliant but needy students to pursue higher education in different disciplines of engineering. The company has selected 50 students who are already enrolled in the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), and each student is receiving a scholarship worth GHC375,000 per year.
Mr Antwi-Dadzie stated that the company had initiated a scholarship scheme for brilliant but needy students to pursue higher education in different disciplines of engineering.
He further hinted at plans to roll out other interventions aimed at improving the livelihoods of residents in communities within their operational jurisdiction.
“As part of our corporate social responsibility, we have a scholarship programme that we have put in place for brilliant but needy students in our impacted communities. We have selected, together with the Ministry of Education, 50 students who are already in the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) studying different disciplines in engineering. We believe that as we are able to support them, we are also going to improve their standard of living in what they do in the community.”
“Out of the 50 students, seven of them were selected from the Bolga municipality and are in the Tarkwa School of Mines and are being given GHC375,000.00 worth of scholarships per year, and it is running for four years, so, that’s about GHC1.5million. There are other areas that we are looking at, in the areas of health, infrastructure development, environmental support, and we believe that we need to start somewhere, and as the company does well, we believe that there are more areas that we can touch”.
Headmistress of the Anglican JHS, Paulina Abem, commended BOST for the timely support, adding that the intervention will help reduce the burden on parents and assured that the students will optimize the usage of the books.
She also bemoaned that the school’s lack of a computer laboratory and toilet facility was negatively affecting academic work, and appealed to BOST and benevolent organizations to support the school.
The beneficiary schools were: Kalbeo-Tindonsobligo Kindergarten, Primary and JHS; Anglican Kindergarten, Primary and JHS; and Tindonsobligo 31st December Kindergarten, Primary and JHS.
