Ambassador's Girls Scholarship Program (04 March 09)

Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.

Thank you all for welcoming me here today.  It is heartening to see so many brilliant children here.  We are proud to be able to support you in your pursuit of education, and I am very happy to meet you.  African children are the future of the continent. Your education is key to the future of Sierra Leone.  Only if you succeed, your country, and your continent, can succeed.

I am particularly happy to see you all this week, the start of Women’s History Month.  While the Ambassador’s Girls Scholarship Program now supports the educational aspirations of boys as well, the program came out of a desire to create opportunities for girls so they can become the powerful women of tomorrow.

The Ambassador’s Girl Child Scholarship Program is part of the U.S. President’s African Education Initiative (AEI).  The program has supported the children of Sierra Leone for five years now, and has provided scholarships for over four thousand children!

While scholarships are important to children’s ability to stay in school, the community support they receive is essential to helping children overcome the social challenges that remove them from school.  I urge parents and other community members to protect children from the pressures to leave school, so that children can be children.

I urge all you young scholars to continue to study hard and treat your school work seriously. You are the most privileged among your peers. Remember that your classmates are looking up to you, and you should take the personal responsibility to be role models so other children can learn from your example.

I understand that 98% of you passed your exams, and I am so proud of you.  I am also impressed that you have won the first place in HIV/AIDS quiz competitions with other AGSP schools. Bravo!

To help you in your quest for knowledge, I’ve brought a donation of books for your classrooms and your libraries.  As a student of history, I think there is no resource more important to students than books.  I hope you all develop a love of reading early in life that will carry you through your education and into adulthood.

Thank you all for welcoming us today, and for making such wonderful use of the resources we’ve been able to provide to your school.  I wish you the best of luck in the future.