By Moses M. Tokpah, mosesmtokpah@gmail.com
KAKATA, Liberia- The General Manager of the Salala Rubber Corporation, Allupy Shanid has challenged students and their parents to take advantage of the educational opportunity provided them by the company and make maximum use of it, because an educated mind is a well-informed mind.
He made the statement at a program marking the dedication of two newly constructed school buildings and the turning over of a sixty seated bus held at the Camp #4 campus on Wednesday, November 10, 2021.
Mr. Shanid also called on the parents to pay more attention to their children’s education and take key interest because they’re the future leaders of Liberia stating that a formal education with a solid foundation is important.
The SRC General Manager told the gathering that his company is ready to deliver her part, but the parents and teachers should also contribute in order for the children who are the future citizens of this country can meaningfully contribute to the development of Liberia.
He said Liberia is blessed in so many ways as the role of the concessions in upgrading the educational system of the country has been immense.
He said the education system of Firestone and the Liberia Agriculture Company (LAC) has being very much appreciative over the years thereby creating eminent personalities in the country.
“We all are following the but and we are confident that we are in the right direction and we doing our best despite all the constraints” he explained.
Mr. Shanid pointed out that the best thing that they can do as a concession is to educate the youths of Liberia.
“As we grow as a company we have lots of constraints but as we grow we will make sure that such growth will be translated for the betterment of the country which means especially in the educational and health sectors that will be reflected,” he assured the gathering.
He informed the students and their parents that there are lots of counties in the country that do not have concessions but their county has the opportunity to have two and as the result they have the benefits of health and education.
Manager Shanid at the same time indicated that Margibi is fortunate to have two concessions which includes Firestone Plantation and the Salala Rubber Corporation.
Speaking earlier, the Coordinator of the Salala Rubber Corporation School System, Cyrus Johnny said they have had a serious transportation challenge in the school.
He said the students went through a lot noting that the immediate past year was a very serious challenging year for them to the extent that they (students) have to transport themselves.
“Throughout the year students coming from Weala, some students have to relocate to the plantation only because they wanted to acquire education, it was a big burden for our parents, but the students went through” he said.
According to him, in the midst of all the challenges the general manager of SRC assured the SRCSS that a bus was way on its way noting that they expected it to be in the country in December, but the general manager assured them that it will be available before schools open.
He described the bus as being exceptional narrating that they were looking out for killer bean, but the one given them is more than a killer bean bus.
Commenting on the school buildings, Mr. Johnny said for a long period of time they have been talking about an exclusive senior high building.
He added that despite of that they did not expect that the general manager and his team would have constructed a new school building and do an extension in camp #6 amidst the COVID-19 and the financial crisis.
“But the GM again as a champion of education, he said we will make sure that we can have a new building that will house just the senior class,” Mr. Johnny asserted.
He said the building was constructed to provide more space for the workers’ children and to have a comfortable learning environment where the future leaders of the country can acquire education.
The SRCSS Coordinator first appreciated the Almighty God for what he has done through SRC General Manager and his team. He also lauded the management for the Initiatives.
For his part, the human resources manager of the Salala Rubber Corporation, Jallah G. Mensah, II disclosed that the project is in fulfilment of a commitment made by the management of the company to the education of the youths who are the future leaders of tomorrow.
Mr. Jallah said the management has over the time strategized, had meetings with the coordinator and deliberated lengthily on sourcing finances for the execution of the different constructions that were dedicated.
“Finances have been scares, but again, this administration and this company has made a commitment to the education of the youths who are the future leaders of tomorrow; in that respect we are here today to prove that we are committed to the education of the future generation of this country” he added.
He further reflected on the time students “agitated for a better transport system” adding that the management rented buses, but the students were not satisfied thus requesting for an air-conditioner bus.
Jallah G. Mensah said the SRC Management committed that it will provide transport indicating that the idea is to get the students from their locations to school and back as today they have an outstanding bus.
Also, the County Education Officer of Margibi, Stephen H. Toe Jr. thanked the SRC Management for initiatives.
The Salala Rubber Corporation (SRC) plantation was established in 1959 and the Weala Rubber Company (WRC) factory was operational in 1962. However, the civil wars of the 1990s and early 2000s were the demise of the rubber industry. SRC was looted and the WRC factory was destroyed.
In 2007, Agrifinal merged Weala’s factory and Salala’s plantation. The Socfin Group then acquired the Salala Rubber Corporation (SRC) and invested to optimize the plantation and improve social infrastructure (houses, schools, health centers, etc.).
SRC sources its rubber from its own plantation, but also from the surrounding smallholders. Unfortunately, since 2011 the raw material provided by the smallholders and SRC has not been sufficient to keep Weala’s production unit operational. The factory has therefore been shut down and all output is sent to LAC’s factory at 150 km southeast of Salala. Ever since, the plantations have been extended to arrive at 4 500 hectares of mature rubber trees.