Ouagadougou:The Autonomous Pension Fund for Civil Servants (CARFO) hosted its 19th annual scholarship award ceremony, providing more than 1,200 scholarships to orphans of CARFO pensioners and security force members who died in the line of duty.

According to Burkina Information Agency, the scholarships, valued at over 130,000,000 CFA francs, were distributed along with in-kind donations. Each of the 1,300 scholarships was worth 100,000 CFA francs, and the top ten performers received excellence prizes of 200,000 CFA francs each. Additional encouragement prizes and items like 50 kg bags of rice were also given to all recipients.

The event was presided over by the Minister of Servants of the People, Mathias Traor©, alongside Professor Moumouni Zoungrana, Minister in charge of Secondary and Vocational Education. Director General of CARFO, Hyacinthe Tamalgo, commended the continued support from partners for this initiative, which has been ongoing since 2010.

The scholarship criteria have been adjusted to include more orphans of fallen security force members, with over 500 such orphans benefiting from the program. The patron of the ceremony, represented by Laurent David Tiemtor©, highlighted the importance of perseverance in education and reiterated the group's commitment to social responsibility.

Minister Traor© also commended the resilience of administrative and educational staff, urging them to continue working in harmony towards the goals of the Popular Progressive Revolution led by President Captain Ibrahim Traor©.

The organizing committee noted that between 2008 and 2026, over 10,000 scholarships, totaling more than 900 million CFA francs, have been awarded, with the annual scholarship amount increasing from 81,000 to 100,000 CFA francs since 2009. CARFO, established in 1986, not only manages pensions but also addresses occupational risks for public sector employees throughout their careers and into retirement.