Liberia: ArcelorMittal Announces Community Scholarship Program

Jozephus Coenen, Chief Executive Officer of ArcelorMittal Liberia.

ArcelorMittal Liberia (AML) has announced the launch of a new education support initiative known as the ‘Community Scholarship Program’.

The scholarship program is designed for twelfth graders, as well as students in accredited public colleges, and specialized tertiary educational institutions in Bong, Grand Bassa, and Nimba Counties. 

The Community Scholarship Program, according to AML, will award 100-percent of all annual scholarships to eligible students majoring in the sciences and math who are residents in cities, towns, and villages in the immediate operational areas of ArcelorMittal Liberia (AML). 

Jozephus Coenen, Chief Executive Officer of ArcelorMittal Liberia said the Program is driven by ArcelorMittal’s corporate values and a responsibility to help train and develop a literate and skilled workforce to support Liberia’s socio-economic development. 

“Access to high-quality education remains a major challenge for students in rural and peri-urban areas across Liberia mostly because parents are unable to pay their children’s fees. This situation often denies many brilliant young people access to education or forces them to drop out of school. ArcelorMittal Liberia is investing an initial USD $50,000 in the Community School Program because we believe that supporting the education of some of Liberia’s next-generation, will make a profound impact on their lives to contribute to the development of their country,” the AML CEO emphasized.  

The ArcelorMittal Liberia CEO encouraged students in Bong, Nimba, and Grand Bassa Counties to apply for the Community Scholarship Program when the process begins and is officially launched on June 7.

He said, “The Community Scholarship Program is a further demonstration of ArcelorMittal Liberia’s commitment to the socio-economic development of Liberia.”

The scholarship initiative complements other important initiatives that ArcelorMittal Liberia is supporting to educate, train and develop the skills of Liberians, especially in its operational areas. 

AML listed other ArcelorMittal Liberia education support programs as the advanced academic studies scholarship program, which provides US$200,000 in scholarships annually to Liberian students for advanced foreign university degree programs; the provision of free education by the ArcelorMittal Liberia Schools in Yekepa, Nimba County; the ArcelorMittal Liberia Training Academy (formerly the VTC) in Yekepa,and as well as provision of annual financial support to the Mining and Geology Programs at the Nimba University College. 

“[Other includes]; the ArcelorMittal University and various training programs for employees of ArcelorMittal Liberia; and education-related contributions to communities near the company constructed the Makinto Public School (Nimba County), the Wamah Town School (Bong County), and built an annex to the Suweta Public School in Grand Bassa County. Renovation of the Zolowee Public School is ongoing and is expected to be completed soon.”