By Ibrahim Sangba

In celebrating a decade of academic excellence, Medivenue College of Health and Social Sciences held its 5th matriculation ceremony on Wednesday, 14th February 2024, on the college's campus at Cobba Farm, Jui.  Medivenue College of Health and Social Sciences whose head office is situated at 11 Waterloo Highway, Jui Junction honored a legacy of academic achievement and empowering future leaders in healthcare and various fields of social work.

The Medivenue College of Health and Social Sciences is a registered and accredited institution by the Sierra Leone government through the Tertiary Education Committee (TEC) and the National Council for Technical, Vocational, and Other Academic Awards (NCTVA). It offers diplomas and certificates in various fields including nursing, laboratory technician, ICT, management, and other social science courses.

The Medivenue College of Health and Social Sciences also has a well-equipped teaching hospital which is so useful for its students and the community as a whole. According to the principal of the college Mr. Aiah Mamud Fonja, "students who passed through Medivenue College of Health and Social Sciences are gainfully employed or self-employed in Sierra Leone, out of Sierra Leone or pursuing higher academic education in somewhere else", principal Fonjah said.

The keynote speaker of the ceremony was Mr. Alhaji Sheriff Mohamed Sapateh, a former chairman of the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC). Mr. Sapateh welcomed the matriculants into another journey of academia and provided ten (10) tips for prospective students who want to be top of academic excellence. The points include but are not limited to "perseverance, never being afraid to fail, accepting constructive criticism, asking questions that will help you know the unknown, stepping out of your comfort zone, making friends with good and serious people, multi-tasking and making good use of time management amongst other things...." Mr Sapateh spoke.

Medivenue College of Health and Social Sciences has increased its intake this year as one hundred and one (101) students were accepted which amongst are 91 female and 10 male who have proudly qualified to pursue the various academic courses at Medivenue. 

Mariama Sesay of Alpha Terrace, K. Step, Calaba Town was one of the matriculants in the department of Medical Laboratory Technician, she expressed her enthusiasm for being accepted into the college to pursue her dream course. She went further to call on other colleagues who are languishing on the street to come to Medivenue College of Health and Social Sciences to start something new as the lecturers are well prepared to make them useful people in society, she cited one of Mahatma Gandhi's quotations, "Live as if you were to die tomorrow, learn as if you were to live forever,.... procrastination is a killer of dreams", Mrs. Sesay quoted. She continued, "Fellow Sierra Leoneans, come to Medivenue College of Health and Social Sciences, it is a government-accredited institution by TEC and NCTVA", she said.

Samuel Tucker of Shalma Drive, Hastings, who is reading the Public Health course was also privileged to be among his colleague matriculants of Medivenue College of Health and Social Sciences for the 2023 - 2024 academic year. He said that he was privileged to be accepted at Medivenue College of Health and Social Sciences and that he is going to make good use of the privilege given to him by taking his course very seriously. He went on further to call his colleague youths to come to Medivenue and try a new life as no amount of education is not useful, "instead of being engaged in gambling, drugs abused and other social vices, get your requirements and come to Medivenue College of Health and Social Sciences and add value in your life", he encouraged.

Among other dignitaries who were in attendance were Dr. Alpha Turay of NCTVA, a representative of Njala University, councilor Salaymatu Koroma of WARD-C, the CEO of Medivenue College of Health and Social Sciences Mr. Mohamed Alieu Rackson Koroma, matron Hadratu Jilleh, the headman of the  Cobba Farm community, staff and lecturers of the Medivenue College of Health and Social Sciences Sierra Leone and host of others.