On Monday, Oct. 9, Rosebel Gold Mines N.V. (RGM), hosted the signing ceremony of the Rosebel Scholarship Program 2023-2024 at Torarica’s Royal Ballroom. This scholarship program provides scholarships to best graduates of Junior High schools from Brokopondo, Sipaliwini and Upper Saramacca, and enables them to successfully complete their study path in high school or higher education in Paramaribo. The program provides both technical and social counseling for all enrolled students. The cost of study is paid by RGM, including housing, monthly transportation, consumption, pocket money, tuition and study materials from the time students begin the program until they complete their higher education degree. The students making the entry from the 2023-2024 school year are Anea Fitelia and Trovena Amoloe of MULO Atjonie, Marencia Huur and Lakisha Linga of LBO Atjonie, Lafurtery Baisie and Riquella lan of MULO Brownsweg, Renato King and Varjele Seedo of Nieuw Jacob School.
The program started in 2009 with the selection of the four (4) best graduates from MULO Brokopondo. For the 2019-2020 school year, an additional dimension was added; in connection with the program’s tenth anniversary, ten (10) students were then admitted on a one-time basis, with six (6) additional scholarships being awarded to best graduates from the MULO technical and LBO schools in Brokopondo. In order to include the cooperating communities of Kwakoegron and Pikin Saramacca that were otherwise excluded from the program due to their location, an extension was made to these communities in 2020. With this expansion, the two (2) best graduates from the elementary school of Kwakoegron and New Jacobkondre are admitted annually as juniors in the program. Currently, a total of 41 students are enrolled in the program.
For Jerry Finisie, RGM Community Relations and Development manager, this is one of the most sustainable projects initiated by RGM. “We spend about USD 100,000 on an annual basis on this program, and we see the investment back in the district in the graduates who are working within the district. For me, with this we have laid a good foundation for sustainable development of Suriname but in particular the districts of Brokopondo and Sipaliwini. A good education is something that no one can take away from you, so the result is lasting.”