On Friday, March 17, 2023, ArcelorMittal Liberia (AML) with the support of community leaders broke ground for the construction of a children playground in Frank Diggs Town, Grand Bassa County.
Frank Diggs Town, one of the communities close to ArcelorMittal’s operational areas in Grand Bassa County, is in Blehzee Administrative District, Wee-Statutory District, electoral district #4, Grand Bassa County. It is a stone-throw distance away from the St. John Town where the railway used by ArcelorMittal to transport direct shipment of ore from Yekepa to Buchanan splits the town into two equal halves.
Speaking at the groundbreaking, which was held at the Frank Diggs Public School, Manrier Hutchinson, ArcelorMittal-Liberia’s Grand Bassa Community Relations Supervisor, said the company thought to do the project under the “Safeguarding Our Community” program as a way of keeping children away from the locomotive track and to get them motivated to return to school.
Hutchinson said the number one priority of the project is to ensure safety of children in Frank Diggs town.
Hutchinson said, “We said earlier that the train passes through Frank Diggs, and one of our priorities at ArcelorMittal is to ensure safety. We say safety is first and safety is always.”
According to her, to ensure safety is upheld in the local communities it was key to erect such a modern playground in areas conducive for children of all ages to play and engage each other in different ways.
Frank Diggs Public School’s Vice Principal for Administration, Eugene David, described the project as “important”, and thanked ArcelorMittal “for thinking in this direction”.
The Paramount Chief of Blehzee District, Andrew Kpah, wished the beneficiaries use the playground for the intended purpose.
Chief Kpah committed that the community will help in whatever way possible to ensure that the project is completed and dedicated.
Parents, teachers and school-going children present at the groundbreaking praised ArcelorMittal for the help extended to their community.
Last Week, AML and its partners broke ground in Zowetnta, Bong County, for another playground as part of its community development strategy.
Playgrounds already constructed in Yekepa and Buchanan have recorded meaningful use by dozens of children daily.
This week, another groundbreaking is scheduled for Camp #4, Yekepa, Nimba County.