After Chairman Mao Zedong’s death, Deng Xiaoping was to lead China through successful reforms with an apparent determination towards modernization.   (Photo: Josephine B. Tholley)

Celebrating 30 years of China-World Bank Partnership in 2010, Robert B. Zoellick, World Bank Group President at the time spoke of some kinds of transformational knowledge that Deng had in mind when he said in the late 1970s: “When our thousands of Chinese students abroad return home, you will see how China will transform itself”.

Between 1981 and 2004, Zoellick said, “China succeeded in lifting more than half a billion people out of extreme poverty. This is certainly the greatest leap to overcome poverty in history.” “Knowledge”, Deng said, “was at the core of the very first project in China financed by the World Bank, in June 1981.”

Deng Xiaoping’s quote “When our thousands of Chinese students abroad return home, you will see how China will transform itself” became the hall mark of China even as we speak today, from the framework of the growth they have, as a country experienced. Above all, that was an explicit call for show of patriotic and love for country, added to the very need to make sacrifices for the advancement of one’s country.

Precisely on July 29, 1971, leaders of China and Sierra Leone made one historic decision- establishing diplomatic relations, opening a new chapter in the history of the friendly relations between the two countries.

Bosom friends, we know, “make distance irrelevant”. Although the two nations are far apart, they have ever maintained close relationship at both the diplomatic and people-to-people levels.

China has continued to be supportive to Sierra Leone in areas of infrastructure drive, human resource development, amongst others. This, not forgetting the role played by Sierra Leone, in China’s bid to become a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council. Years back, though!

Just recently, the quota for the coming academic year is expected to be increased encouragingly. That said, we are now also seeing a number of our compatriots graduating and preparing to return home with higher degrees like Bachelor, Master and PhD.

This is good news for our growth process, both in the short and long terms. Education plays a crucial role in a nation’s growth process. When our dozens of students shall have returned home, they surely should serve as contributing factors to our development process.

Yes, there still are challenges we face as a country. But we are no longer the same as we were a decade or so ago. A long way, we have come! The environment for growth has been ensured, the Government keeps encouraging all and sundry to be part of the process of change and development.  President Ernest Bai Koroma has laid the foundation. We have seen a leap in infrastructure growth, but we need more. The Government cannot do it alone; the collective effort of us all would be of paramount help.

As graduates, going back home after years of studies abroad bring with them lots of expectations.  This is not surprising but again, in whatever way one could contribute, one should do. The better tomorrow we need for coming generations, should be built by today’s generation to which we all do find ourselves.

I join the world in wishing the dozens of brothers and sisters returning home and through them, we the world should see a transformed Sierra Leone in the coming years. With that, I bring you summary of few:

Mohamed S. Sankoh: He successfully completed his studies and has been awarded a Masters Degree in International Relations and Law from the China Foreign Affairs University, Beijing, China. His thesis was focused on ECOAWS’ Economic Integration with apt attention paid to the challenges and prospects of intra regional trade.

Josephine B. Tholley: MSc Applied Economics, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan. Her thesis dealt with Impact of Foreign Aid on Economic Growth of Sierra Leone.

Yayah Sesay: Returning home with a Masters Degree in Applied Economics (Development Economics) from Capital University of Economics and Business, Beijing, China. His research was focused on in-depth Analysis of the Impact of Foreign Aid on the West African Region.

Mohamed Keimbe: MSc in Information and Communication Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan. Thesis- Event Recommendation System: Algorithm and Implementation

Alimamy Amara Kargbo: PhD in Economic (Finance), School of Economics, Jilin University, Changchun, PRC. Field of Study: Finance. Thesis topic:  The Impact of Financial Development on Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan African Countries.

Isata Tarawally: Masters in International Business Management, Zhejiang Normal University. She did an extensive research by assessing the link between Financial Development and Economic Growth in Sierra Leone’s economy.

Chernor Momodu Bah: Master in Resource and Economics, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan. Thesis was an empirical investigation on Economic Growth, Institutions and the Natural Resource Curse in Sierra Leone; an empirical investigation.