By Sulaiman Jalloh
Helping to mitigate the challenges faced by old people, the Rotary Club Freetown on Saturday 10th February, 2024, presented food and non-food items to the aged at the King George VI Memorial Home in Grafton, in the east end of Freetown.
Speaking in an interview, after the handing over ceremony, Alpha O. Tejan Jalloh, the acting president of the Rotary Club Freetown Chapter said the gesture is an annual event of his organization for over 25 years, noting as an organization, they value the less-fortunate, adding that most of them have wealth of experience and has served the nation.
“We have been doing this for over 25 years because we value these people. Most of them have served the nation and has wealth of experience and we believe to partner with those upper hands to see what we can do for them. For the past 20 years, we have been always coming to support them not only to give something to them but also to have fun with them,” Jalloh explained.
Madam Sheila John, the former assistance president and governor Rotary District in West Africa said the theme for this year’s celebration is ‘creating hope in the World’, noting that, as a team, they want to create hope for everyone living in the communities like hope for live, hope for survival, hope for good educational system, good water and may more and that they want to creates hope as they engage in implementing their projects around the world.
According to Madam John, her organization has short-term and long-term projects across the world that they have been doing since their establishment in 1905. She cited water, scholarship and many other projects they have been rolling out.
“One of our projects is called water is life, and we have been implementing it for over 15 years and we will continue to provide water in some of the communities” she said, adding that there is also a project called ‘helping baby’s breath’ as there are new born babies that normally die in the hospitals, saying her organization provides funding for equipment like oxygen machines, among other medical equipment to help save the lives of the new born babies.
She said their visit to the aged home is part of their endeavors and has since been consistent in doing such for more than 20 years.
According to Sheila John, the problems of the world cannot be solved at once, and that her organization alone cannot address all the needs of communities, but can create impacts that will create positive changes. She pointed out that they have seven areas of focus including water and sanitation, maternal health, child care, peace and conflict.
“We cannot finish our conversation without hoping that all the conflicts around the world and even our communities,” he noted, but said they can make a difference in their humanitarian interventions.
Makalay Mansaray is the home manager for the King George VI memorial home. She expressed gratitude for the kind gesture given to them by the Rotary Club of Freetown and promised that the gift will be used for the intended purpose, noting Rotary normally visit them at the beginning of every year.
According to Madam Mansaray, the food items will help to improve nutritional status of the aged which will help them live well, healthy and longer.
The items presented include, rice, oil, water, clothing.
Rotary is a worldwide philanthropic organization with over 1.2 million members across the globe with specific focus on helping the less-fortunate like promoting education, providing medical care to children and women. It was established in 1905 in Chicago and the branch was establish in Sierra Leone March 1963.
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Friday, February 16th, 2024 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
