On Saturday, September 2, Rosebel Gold Mines N.V. (RGM), organized the Brokopondo Speech Contest in Brokopondo for the 8th time. From the 18 participants, finalist Jennefer Aloeboetoe of Mulo Brokopondo, who performed her speech in excellent manner and very convincingly, was chosen as the winner for the year 2023. The other winners were Jeniva Smit (2nd place), Rujetha Antomoi (3rd place), Lafurterey Baisie (4th place) and Joshua Pansa (5th place). The winners received trophies, laptops and prize packages with a total value of around SRD100,000.

The Brokopondo Speech Contest is part of the Youth Talent Development (YTD) Program, implemented annually by RGM’s Community Relations and Development Department. Initiated in 2012, this program aims to help talented youth in the district identify and develop their skills that will help them build self-confidence. This program consists not only of a Speech Contest, but also a School Quiz which was organized in the month of July. In the process, R.M Schmidt School and Daniel IJveraar School were declared the Champion and Semi-Champion of the RGM School Quiz 2023, respectively. Through this program, RGM provides support to various organizations working on formation and capacity building within the district, including the Ministry of Education Science and Culture, the EBGS Education Foundation and Roman Catholic Special Education (RKBO).

Jerry Finisie, Community Relations and Development Manager at RGM, was particularly proud of the fact that other companies in the district decided to co-sponsor the event this year, “For us, it is a form of giving back to the district and it is commendable that we now also have partners who are willing to co-invest in the youth of Brokopondo and thus also help further develop our beautiful country.” The companies active within the district of Brokopondo that also contributed to this project are SEMC Motors N.V., Kamp Transport, N.V. Powachiny and Haukes Labour N.V.

Author: RGM    Reviser:  Jian   Editor-in-Chief: Wang Jie