A professors’ farewell ceremony at IUT

A farewell ceremony was held at the University Institute of Technology (Hamramba campus) of the University of Comoros in Moroni. It was on Saturday 21 October, 2023. Mrs. Cheikh Amina was a Communication professor and former mayor of Bambao ya Pbwani. She is among the three professors, senior cadres and notables who retired from the University of Comoros two years ago. She boasts of having among her former students several cadres who have become ministers, directors, professors and even candidates at the last and next presidential elections. The lady who invited some of her former colleagues is also a trade unionist, an activist and an international consultant. She travelled to many countries as an election observer. Before becoming a professor at IUT, Mohamed Youssouf used to work in the ministry of Land Planning and Environment. ‘‘I like my country, my region and my village of Djumwashongo. I am not introducing myself. Those who know me will tell you who am I ’’ he said. Mr. Youssouf has some of his offspring who studied at the IUT. He is grateful for the young directors who run the Technical Institute today because they were their own students. He never missed an opportunity to come to visit his former colleagues especially during traditional Comorian weddings. Mohamed Soilihi is the first and former Director of the National School of Administration and Commerce (formerly ENAC). ‘‘I did not intend to become a teacher. My first job was in the ministry of Finance in the 1980s. One day, I asked Mr. Rashad (former president of the University of Comoros) if I can give some Management courses at the public high school Said Mohamed Cheikh in Moroni. He told me okay. Since that year, teaching has become my only job,’’ he said. Before the opening of ENAC in the 1990s, he got a scholarship for an internship in France on how to run a high school. When one of his instructors asked him what his plan was for the next five years, he had no say. ‘‘There is no specific training to become a school director in Comoros. That is the first time I learned that special skills are required to become director or superintendent in a school,’’ he said. Mouridi Soilihi was a professor and an expert in International Business. He passed away in 2022. He was the former Cabinet director of the governor of Ngazidja in the 1980s. He also worked as civil Cabinet attaché at the presidency of the Union of Comoros from 2002 to 2006. He was appointed at the Human Resources department of the University of Comoros as assistant director, then Director General between 2007 and 2017. The audience paid tribute to him by reading the holy koranic surate al-fatihah i.e. prologue. May Allah reward him. Ibouroi Ali Toibibou is the administrator and acting president of the University of Comoros. He spoke some soothing words by reminding our honorable retirees that they paid back the pension funds Department almost the money they owe. However, some financial problems remain for the months and years to come. After the farewell ceremony speeches wrapped up, our honorable professors were given certificates of recognition. That Saturday morning event was followed by a lavish cocktail to honor our champions as they should be. Mouzawar Chami, Contributing writer

Young Entrepreneurship in Comoros

Farmer Biamrifi at the American Corner ''I didn’t like school when I was a young boy. I got a college education by chance,’’ Fayçal Biamrifi said in a presentation held on Thursday 12 October 2023 at the American Corner – a building of the University of Comoros – in Moroni. It’s the first meeting of this kind titled ‘‘ Parcours, Oeuvre et Perspectives d’Avenir ’’ i.e. Career History, Work and Future Prospects organized by Abdou Mroivili, the educational adviser who worked for the US embassy in Comoros. Mroivili’s teamwork includes Ibrahim Mohamed from YALI (Young African Leaders Initiative) association in Comoros and Ahmed Bacar from Joso (Journalisme de Solutions, Solutions Journalism in English). YALI is the American government initiative to invest in the next generation of African leaders. Its aim is to develop leadership and entrepreneurship skills and connects participants with their peers and with the American people. Solutions Journalism is an approach to news reporting that focuses on the responses to social issues as well as the problems themselves. Solutions stories explain how and why responses are working or not working. For instance, it can explain a problem and find the solution by giving the examples of young entrepreneurs who succeed in business. Joso is not interested in global news. It focuses on responses to problems that are newsworthy for youngsters instead. According to Mroivili, there is a US program of USD 300 million that aims to develop agriculture and livestock farming in partnership with FAO in order to achieve food self-sufficiency in Comoros. Biamrifi was born in the village of Boingoma in the island of Mohéli. He got a Bachelor degree in Environment from a university of Madagascar. He was hired by the Telecom public company in 2010. He used to work at the Logistics Department. Biamrifi refuses to work under political pressure, especially during the 2010 general elections. Thus, the young cadre was often posted in different remote areas of the country from 2011 to 2018 because of his ‘political disobedience’. After been suspended from his job for eleven months in 2019, Biamrifi has decided to work for himself in the agriculture business. He first worked with his father by renting five hectares of land in Mohéli. He had the chance to get freely a tractor, but he had to pay the fuel charges. Despite his lack of training in agriculture, the corona virus lockdown of 2020 and 2021, some water and transportation problems, the young farmer has become the first producer of banana, pineapple, and watermelon in Comoros. Concerning his production of bananas, he uses bleach – a technical method that kills all germs in a hall – before planting the banana seeds in the warm soil. Biamrifi works with a team of 19 youngsters. They set up an agricultural cooperative. He takes 40% of the annual income and the remaining for his co-workers. He thinks that gardening market (vegetables) is also profitable. He criticizes the public authorities for not helping those who invest in the agricultural sector. ‘‘We need a bank dedicated to farmers because conventional financial institutions do not trust us,’’ he said. Even if no one knows what the future has in store for us, the young entrepreneur is still optimistic. He hopes to increase his production and value add his product by selling crisps, jam and straw juice in the national and international markets. The Comorian Blog, 12 October 2023, Chami Mouzawar, Contributing Writer