By Sulaiman Jalloh
Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on Hajj in Sierra Leone, Alhaji Murtada Sesay has disclosed that a total of six hundred and nine (609) pilgrims from Sierra Leone will participate in this year’s Muslim pilgrimage in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Hajj [pilgrimage] is among the five pillars of Islam for Muslims who can afford its cost to do so at least once in a lifetime.
According to Abubakar Bah, the information attaché at Sierra Leone Embassy in Saudi Arabia, the Hajj committee chairman told him that, among the 609 pilgrims, are 2 medical doctors, 1 pharmacist, 2 nurses, and 3 members of the Presidential Taskforce on Hajj, saying among the 609 pilgrims, sixty percent (60%) are self-sponsored, while forty percent (40%) are beneficiaries of government scholarships.
He added that the Presidential Taskforce on Hajj has made arrangements and negotiated with Ethiopian Airlines to ensure that the pilgrims are flown to Saudi Arabia in two batches. The first batch he said will depart the country on 31st May and the second batch will follow on 1st June 2024.
The pilgrims are expected to land in Madina, Islam’s second holiest city, before proceeding to Makkah for the 1445 Hajj.
Copyright –Published in print in Expo Times Newspaper on Friday, May 17TH, 2024 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
