To boost youth education: Dangote Cement Cameroon donates to secondary schools in Douala.

A delegation from the Dangote Cement Cameroon, led by Ruben Ness Essombey Ndamdwe, head of Public Community and Government Relations Department of the company, distributed a total of 550 benches to three public secondary schools in Douala.

The beneficiary institutions are; Government Bilingual High School, GBHS, Mambanda; Government Bilingual High School, GBHS, Bepanda; and Government High School, GHS, Japoma.

According to the head of Dangote Cement Cameroon delegation, the donation was made as part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, policy. 

Dangote Cement positively impacting thousands 

“Our motivation is that as part of our Corporate Social Responsibility, we decided to reach out to the population in the areas of culture, health and sanitation, and education in this case,” the head of delegation stated. 

Quizzed on the choice of  beneficiary institutions, the head of Dangote delegation said the schools were selected based on the density of the student population with an estimate of not less than 4,000 learners each. 

“The reason for the choice of these schools is because these are schools with very high number of students with each estimated at having 4,000 students. So, we saw the need to support them in the provision of school benches than elsewhere,” Essombey Ndamdwe told The Guardian Post.

He reiterated that Dangote Cement Cameroon has always made it a duty to support its communities through various actions and projects each year. 

He then outlined that for the present donation, GBHS Mambanda in the Bonaberi neighbourhood of Douala received 200 benches, GBHS Bepanda benefitted 150 benches and another 200 benches for GHS Japoma.

Beneficiaries express gratitude

Be it at the Mambanda, Bepanda or Japoma, the leaders of the institutions were unanimous in expressing their gratitude to Africa’s leading cement firm for its largesse. 

While expressing gratitude to their benefactor, the Principal of GBHS Mambanda, Etengeneng Doris epse Macndip, indicated that the importance of the gesture shown by Dangote cannot be overemphasised. 

Similarly, the Principal of GBHS Bepanda, Ndjeng Alexis, highlighted the timeliness of the donation. Ndjeng said the donation comes to boost the preparation towards the organisation of end-of-year evaluation and public examinations like the GCE Ordinary and Advanced Levels for students of the English subsystem of education as well as the BEPC, Probatoire and BACC examinations for French subsystem of education. 

“We immensely thank Dangote Cement for these benches. The gifts come at a crucial moment when we’re preparing towards examinations,” the Principal of GHBS Bepanda stated. 

He also mentioned that it will help them as their school is a host examination centre for several other institutions. 

Dangote Cement Cameroon at heart of community actions

The Public Relations Officer at Dangote Cement Cameroon, Francine Tchio, also recounted other donations made in recent times by their company. She cited the rehabilitation of the Emergency Ward of the Diedo and Pouma General Hospitals. These, she noted, were accompanied with a donation of medical equipment to the medical facilities. 

In addition, Dangote Cement Cameroon constructed a borehole at the Logpom Primary School still in Douala to aid in the provision of potable water for the teachers, learners and general public. 

Dangote Cement faithful to its CSR policy

Although Dangote Cement Cameroon’s main aim is to create wealth through added value, it is also aware of the need to make a difference to people’s lives, particularly those of members of the host communities.

In line with the policy of the mother company, Dangote Cement Group, the Cameroonian subsidiary has put in place a solid Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, strategy that translates into projects and actions in favour of host communities, and the Cameroonian people.

Thanks to its collective efforts, the company has devised and implemented a robust CSR policy, particularly in the fields of social services, culture, education and health.

The company has also made it a point of delivering projects that have a positive impact on people's lives, such as granting of scholarships, rehabilitation of schools, roads, hospitals, and building community halls.

The cement producer has also been supporting the government in rebuilding regions hit by crisis, setting up water and electricity supply systems, public gardens in various towns and regions of Cameroon.

Premium products

The Dangote Cement Cameroon’s two premium products are the Dangote 3X Cement and Dangote Falcon Cement.

The 3X Cement, decoded to mean Xtra Strong, Xtra Life and Xtra Yield, is said to have been designed to give more value to the end users. 3X Cement has high clinker content, suitable for most building uses, and some infrastructure works such as bridges.

The Dangote 3X CEMII/B-P 42.5R also primarily aims to prevent construction collapse, making it the first choice for builders and contractors. For its part, Dangote Falcon Cement is the latest variety of the company's cement, launched in the local market in November 1, 2021. This variety, said to be multipurpose, affordable, quick set, is a unique mixture specially formulated for moulding concrete blocks, raising walls, plastering, tiling, low-rise buildings, masonry and dams.

In addition, the Falcon CEMIV/B-P 32.5R is a pozzolanic cement, most suitable for low loadbearing applications and for jobs in a harsh and aggressive environment. Both 3X and Falcon are available in 50kg bags and in bulk.

According to officials at the leading cement producing company, they are poised to grow further in the Cameroon market and maintain their leadership. 

The company has committed itself to providing superior quality cement for infrastructure and housing development, in order to improve the daily lives of compatriots.

About Dangote Cement Cameroon SA 

Dangote Cement Cameroon SA, a subsidiary of the Dangote Cement Group, was inaugurated in Douala on August 27, 2015, as the first new entrant to the cement market in Cameroon.

It has a cement grinding unit with a capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per year, with a dedicated quay for unloading clinker and gypsum directly into the plant located in Douala. The imported raw materials are mixed with local pozzolan.

Since its launch, Dangote Cement Cameroon has emerged as the market leader in cement in Cameroon, and boasts of being the first cement plant to introduce grade 3X 42.5R cement, with its three specifications; Extra Strong, Extra Durable, Extra Profitable, to the local market and make it accessible to all. Dangote Cement Group is a subsidiary of Dangote Industries Limited, a trading company founded by Nigerian, Aliko Dangote, in 1981.