KEFFES Rural Development Foundation (KRDF) has engaged 104 teachers and some health workers to address the shortage of teachers and health personnel in eight coastal communities in the Southern Ijaw and Brass Local Government Areas of Bayelsa State.

The communities are Koluama 1 and 2, Ekeni, Fish-Town, Foropa, Ezetu 1 and 2 and Santana which form the acronym ‘KEFFES communities’.

The state ministries of education and health are collaborating with the KRDF in the intervention to solve the problem of lack of teachers and health workers in the rural communities of the state.

Speaking during the ceremony to officially inaugurate the scheme, the Chairman of KRDF, Mr. Matthew Sele-Epri, explained that the effort was aimed at reducing unemployment and boosting access to education and healthcare in the riverine communities.

According to him, the beneficiaries were currently undergoing orientation and would be deployed to eight public primary schools, six public secondary schools and six public health centers in the benefiting communities.

Sele-Epri said that the foundation was set up to manage community development and social responsibility funds provided by oil firms operating in the oil-rich coastal settlements.

He said the intervention was funded by the First E & P/NNPC joint venture to the tune of N67 million annually through a subsisting Memorandum of Understanding with the KEFFES communities.

He said that the targeted facilities had long been neglected by the state government, hence, the need for the intervention to bridge the gap in the education and health sectors.

Sele-Epri said, “The Foundation will pay salaries and sustain the program until there is enough personnel. It is an intervention and can only run as long as we lack teachers.

“Once we get adequate teachers for schools, we will wind up. We have employed monitors from all communities to supervise employees. We have structures in place for monitoring and evaluation.

“It will cost about N67m a year, an average of N5.6m will be spent monthly.”

During the event, the 104 beneficiaries receive their appointment letters issued to them by the KRDF.

The KRDF was set up for the eight communities who are host to Chevron Nigeria Limited on the fringe of the Atlantic Ocean.

Following the 2015 divestment from Oil Mining Leases 83 and 85 by Chevron to First E&P, an indigenous firm, the new owners entered into an agreement with the host communities and adopted the governance structure of KRDF.

The Chairman of KRDF Board of Trustees, Chief Claudius Leghemo, who is the monarch of Koluama Kingdom, applauded the First E&P/NNPC joint venture and urged the state government to prioritize the development of oil-producing communities.

He said it was an irony that the communities who suffered the adverse impact of oil and gas exploration and production were neglected in the provision of social amenities.

The Head of Social Performance, First E&P, Ms. Ayebatonye Basuo, said the oil firm remained committed to the development of its host communities and the implementation of agreements with KEFFES communities.

She said that the intervention was part of such undertaken with funds provided by the oil firm.

Two representatives of those employed, Mrs. Okpulu Queen and Ms. Ileberi Ebiseyo, thanked the KRDF for providing a platform for them to render service to humanity.

They pledged to work hard and contribute their quota to the development of their communities and expressed appreciation to the oil firm for supporting the intervention in education and health sectors.

The permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education, Mr. Walton Liverpool, commended the KRDF and First E&P for the intervention.