Kribi Power making a difference

Kribi Power, like all of Globeleq’s operating business units throughout Africa, is invested in making a positive impact on the lives of the people in its surrounding community. This is achieved through a number of enterprise and socio-economic development initiatives such as the following two programmes focused on the education and upliftment of the youth in its community:

• • Scholarship programme
  • School supplies distribution to Bagyeli children
  • Scholarship programme

By recognising and rewarding positive academic results, Kribi Power’s in-kind scholarship programme not only celebrates the achievements of top performing primary school learners, it also motivates other children to strive for the same results and reward. In 2015, Kribi Power rewarded 258 children in 15 villages, and it expects to reward the same number of children in June this year. Children are also given educational material including school bags, school uniforms, exercise books, French-English dictionaries and stationery such as pencils, pens, slate etc.

The ceremonies at which these children are recognised are attended by administrative authorities like the Divisional Officer and regional delegates of basic education, and their inspectors, traditional authorities such as the village chief and his ‘notables’, the school headmaster and teachers, students, family and members of the local community as well as the Kribi Power CSR team.

School supplies distribution to Bagyeli children

To encourage education and attendance of all the children in the communities neighbouring the Kribi Power plant, school supplies and education materials are provided to newly registered learners. Launched in August 2015, the first distribution took place in October 2015 shortly after the school year started. 104 children, 76 of who are Bagyeli, were given supplies at a ceremony attended by administrative authorities, school administration, traditional authorities, people from the community and Kribi Power management and the CSR team.

Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” We could not agree more!

FUN FACTS: Getting to know one another

What better way to get to know one another than to learn about our different cultures and countries from the horse’s mouth so to speak, rather than resorting to Google.

So we’ve asked each plant to fill us in on some unique facts and insights into their towns, regions or country that we will be sharing with you over the next few months.

In this edition, we travel to the coastal town of Kribi, some 165 kilometres south of Cameroon’s largest city, Douala. Locals in Kribi say the first place to visit is the beach.

There you can participate in the “tirez tirez”, loosely translated as “pull pull”, in which volunteers help the local fishermen pull in the nets they cast out to sea the day before. People form two long rows and sing and cheer as they are dragged in.

One of the top hits at the moment in Kribi is the song “Coller la Petite” which translates more-or-less as “Stick to the girl” by the Cameroon rap star, Franko.

If you want to find out what’s in the news, reading Le Messager or the Cameroon Tribune newspapers will give you insight into local events.

Buying a typical take-away meal will cost you US$6 and you may like to try a rather unusual local speciality, caterpillars.

We hope you enjoyed this brief armchair tour. Remember to check back next month to see what country we are featuring next.