In the wake of President George M. Weah’s quest to build and strengthen the capacity of the youthful population of the country, 14 students on a governmental scholarship to the prestigious Félix Houphouet-Boigny National Polytechnic Institute (INP-HB) in the Ivorian capital Yamoussoukro, have returned to Liberia for an internship program.
As part of President Weah’s youth development goal, a total of 21 students were recruited and taken to Ivory Coast in November 2019 under the Joint Liberia and French Development Agency (AFD) Training Project funded by the French government.
The project, according to a release from the office of the First Lady Madam Clara Weah aims to provide young Liberians with the opportunity to specialize in various fields of science and technology such as civil engineering, mining engineering as well as industrial engineering, information communication technology, Geology, and Agriculture for the boosting of their career and financial stability.
The students expressed excitement about the opportunity and the goodwill of President Weah and the First Lady of the Republic of Liberia for their continuous efforts in putting smiles on the faces of the citizens along with their tirelessness in coordinating the training as well as ensuring that they are well taken care of despite being away from home.
The 14 Liberian scholars are expected; to stay in the country for about four months on an internship program with various governmental agencies before their return to the neighboring Ivory Coast for a thorough thesis defense and graduation if successful.
Office of the First Lady, Director of Press Arthur T. Y. Douglas Jr. extends his congratulations to the interns for their achievement despite the language barrier.
Director Douglas showered praises on the President and First Lady for such thoughtfulness on their part as he further encouraged the interns to remain steadfast and that their contribution to national development is key.
Away from home to the neighboring Ivory Coast currently are about 60 students on a fully funded four-year scholarship program running cohort #3 of the program.
This scholarship program is the result of the dividends of President Weah’s first state visit to Paris in 2018, where he lobbied for the support of the French government through his counterpart President Emmanuel Macron, for youth capacity building in Liberia.
