September 13, 2017 By Ishmael Sallieu Koroma
An eleven year- old girl from Liberia and a recipient of the Princess Diana Award for humanitarian work , Israela J.S. Tarway ,has on Wednesday 6th September, 2017,awarded two scholarships to girls affected by the twin natural disasters that hit some parts of Freetown on August 14th,2017 .
Speaking during a meeting with Vice President Victor Bockarie Foh at his Tower Hill office in Freetown, Israella Tarway expressed her deepest condolence on behalf of the children of Liberia, to the vice President and people of Sierra Leone for the Monday August 14th natural disaster, in which hundreds of lives were destroyed while thousands were left homeless.
“Today, I’m offering scholarship to two girls who have lost their parents in this disaster and I will help them with three hundred dollars for their school expenses,” she said.
Receiving Isreala J.S Tarway from Liberia, Vice President Dr. Victor Bockarie Foh welcomed the young girl and thanked her for coming to sympathise with Sierra Leone, and by extension to give out two scholarships to her colleague girl children affected by the mudslides and flood disaster.
The vice president added that last week ,a young girl, Naasu Kuyateh, perhaps a bit younger than Israela, set a bright example by donating all her money given to her father in recognition of her good performance in school.
She said the lad donated a cash of one hundred and fifty thousand Leones towards children affected by the natural disaster in Sierra Leone.
“Today again, we have Israela Tarway from our sister country ,Liberia, coming with a kind goodies worthy by awarding two scholarships to girls who lost their parents in the natural disaster on the black Monday of August 14th ,” he said.
Vice President Victor Bockarie Foh, referred to Isreala’s donation as wonderful, stating that it will help the beneficiary girls to be educated and become productive and better citizens of the country.
During her three- day visit to Sierra Leone, the young Liberian philanthropist and humanitarian, visited the Old Skol compound in the West end of Freetown where hundreds of mudslides and flood disaster victims are housed ,Don Bosco Fambul, Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs (MSWGCA), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Corporation amongst other places .
During her time with the children at Old Skool, Israella J. S Tarway, taught them how to design slippers with African lappas, Rubber ban designs, amongst others.
Speaking to Concord Times in an exclusive interview, she noted that she felt excited being with her mates and sees them happy despite the trauma and stress they have underwent, adding that “I felt excited because they are human.”
Visiting Don Bosco Fambul at Fort Street, together with senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs, Israella was also able to meet with lots of children affected by the disaster.
“I felt so sad upon hearing some traumatic stories from some of the victims. Children as young as three and eleven lost almost all their family members including their breadwinners that used to take care of them,” she said.
Mother of the young philanthropist and human rights campaigner, Amelia S.T. Say Say said she was happy to travel with her daughter and see some of her age mates, who were affected by the twin disaster in the country.
“I decided to take up this journey with my daughter to see her fulfil her dream to visit Sierra Leone and sympathise with children affected by the August 14th disaster in our neighbouring country,Sierra Leone,” she said.
She said Israela started her humanitarian service at an early age of seven when she started saving some of the money given her by his father.
Mrs. Say Say said from the small cash she saved, she started helping some of the kids in her community and provided them with some food items, as well as bought them some school materials for deprived children.
“With the advice of her father, we decided to open a bank account for her foundation, so that she could realize her dreams and aspirations, “adding that Israela loves to see children happy and always willing to help others suffering from basic amenities like food, clothing and school materials.
The two beneficiaries were recommended by the MSWGCA through Don Bosco, where almost all kids are being taken care of.
The two lads who benefited from the scholarship includes Matilda John- a nine (9) years old girl, who lost some of his family members including her mother and Mariatu Kamara, who lost all her family members including her two parents.
Israela J.S. Tarway is a seventh grade pupil of the Zoe Louise Preparatory School in Liberia, Monrovia and she is the executive Director of the Israela foundation in Liberia.