Ellen Inaugurates BNCBC in Tappita

A new CIMIC project, the “Bangla-Nimba Capacity-Building Centre (BNCBC)”in Tappita under the auspices of the UNMIL Bangladeshi Batallion or BANBATT-18 has been inaugurated.

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf performed the ceremony on Saturday, July 24 during a tour of Nimba County in the north of Liberia as part of this year’s Independence celebrations in that County.

The President, in remarks, expressed satisfaction about the contribution of BANBATT-18 for keeping the peace in the area and the CIMIC activities to the people of Liberia.

President Sirleaf also dedicated the Tappita Hospital on the same day, witnessed by the Contingent Commander of BANBATT-18  Col. Mizan and other senior officers, officials of government and other non-governmental individualsities  were present during the ceremony.

Residents of Tappita expressed gratitude to the Bangladeshi for the establishment of the center, which will help to build the skills of many of the roaming youths.The vocational training center was designed to develop the skills of Liberian citizens, mainly youths for employment and/or self-employment opportunities.

There are two centers in Sanniquille and Tappita, which are a joint collaborative Civil Military Cooperation (CIMIC) project, owned and run by the public with assistance from the Government of Liberia UNMIL and UNDP.

Computer Education, Tailoring, Health Care, Hygiene and Sanitation, as well as Generator Repair and Maintenance and Carpentry are all disciplines to be offered byte center. Others are Plumbing, Repair and Maintenance of Motor Bikes and Mechanical Transports and Cosmetology.

The UNMIL Bangladeshi contingent in 2007 established the first skills training center called Bangladesh -Liberia Friendship Center located in Ganta, used by the population in and around there.

The Contingent Commander Col. Mizan  told this paper that the objectives of the training were  to prevent the people of the community, especially  young men and women from acts incompatible with community norms, including crimes as well as to build the capacity of less privileged  Liberians citizen  to become useful citizens, to assist in developing human resource skills with the view to bring about employment opportunities and to allow the females of the community to train and develop themselves so  as to equally contribute to national development like their male  counterparts.

In another development, the Deputy SRSG of UNMIL for Rules of Laws, on Tuesday, inaugurated the BNCBC Center in Sanniquellie at a ceremony attended by youths of Sanniquellie.