As part of their corporate social responsibility, Zain Sierra Leone, have donated 40,000 litres water tank and 200 mattresses to Fourah Bay College (FBC).
In his statement, Zain Managing Director, Ted Sauti – Phiri said that, the relationship with the FBC is an outstanding one, adding that their presence at the college clearly demonstrates their commitment and support towards nation building.
Zain Chief Operations Officer for Central Africa, Steve Torode said that, Zain is building on the success stories Celtel has made in Africa.
He disclosed that, Zain is aiming to be at the top 10 telecommunications globally by the year 2011.
Zain Africa Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chris Gabriel said that the company is committed to giving back to the community through the “Build Our Nation” project where they have presented school materials to different schools in the country.
Receiving the items, Vice Chancellor of the University of Sierra Leone, Professor Aiah Gbakima expressed gratitude to Zain for the gesture, describing it as timely to the college. He said that, the college campus is 182 years old and was built initially for about 300 students. Currently, he said the college has over 3000 students which makes the presentation extremely important to the college. He pointed out that the College campus was in dire need of a water tank, assuring the company that they would use the items carefully. FBC Student Union President, Abu Komeh said that this is indeed the gesture they were looking for. He stressed that, inadequate supply of water is one of the greatest problems students face on campus. Komeh assured the company that, they would use the items judiciously because “we are benefiting from it”. Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor, Dr Dan Foday said the items presented would salvage the water problem in the FBC community. He disclosed that “we are in the process of rehabilitating the hostels of which one third of the mattresses are not worth using”. Shortly after the presentation, a press conference was held at the Lagoonda Hotel as part of the first visit of Zain Africa CEO, Chris Gabriel. He said that his mission in Sierra Leone is basically to ensure the success of Zain and to listen to the problems affecting staff members. Gabriel further reaffirmed his company’s commitment in investing in the country and bringing in new products for their subscribers.
By Abibatu Kamara