The Ferensola Foundation, a subsidiary of the Kuranko Social Organisation Ferensola, has doled out bursaries to five Kuranko students drawn from various higher institutions of learning in the country to assist them with their tuition fees for the 2009/2010 academic year.

The Foundation which is based in the Diaspora is supporting education of the Kuranko youth in courses of relevance, and this first gesture is to demonstrate that commitment to ensure quality education amongst Kuranko students.

Kadiatu Tarawalli (Sengbeh Chiefdom), Daniel Koroma (Nieni Chiefdom), James Marah (Mongo Chiefdom), Karifa Jawara (Diang Chiefdom) and Sayoh Kamara (Neya Chiefdom) each received Le.400,000 (Four Hundred Thousand Leones) having fulfilled a very tight competitive criteria set by the Foundation.

For a start, the Foundation focused on the following areas: nursing, medical, law and teaching and any other area that is of benefit to the advancement of the Kuranko people. The candidates were subjected to a rigorous interview process, conducted by a panel led by the Coordinator, Mr. Sheku Koroma, during which they defended their need for the bursary, high performance level in their respective courses, and their ethnicity.

Two candidates from each of the chiefdoms were shortlisted among whom the successful candidates emerged.

Presenting the cash bursaries on the 18th November 2009, the coordinator of the programme, Mr. Koroma congratulated the recipients on behalf of the Foundation for the performances at the interview. He reminded the beneficiaries that they would continue benefiting from the largesse of the Foundation "if they maintain the high level of performance in their courses", noting that the bursary is purely for students who main such performances.