January 31, 2018 By Elizabeth A. Kaine
Tens of gags of rice donated to flood and mudslide victims
The donors also donated used clothing and shoes
Sierra Leone National Association of Manitoba, Canada (SALNAM) and Ndegbormei Development Organisation (NDO), yesterday donated sixty bags of rice, used clothes and shoes to mudslide and floods victims at the Regent Community Centre in Freetown.
Project Organiser Juliana B. Ganda, said the organisation was formed by Sierra Leoneans and friends of Sierra Leoneans living in Canada, with the aim of helping the poor and needy in Sierra Leone.
Ms. Ganda said SALNAM’s mission is to serve as an umbrella body for all Sierra Leoneans living in Manitoba while NDO’s vision is to improve living conditions of marginalised people, especially women, youth and children.
She said the organisation was not formed for profit-making , but as a disaster relief committee to raise funds and seek donations, adding that it is a community based organisation in which every person is elevated by their participation and in which every interaction involves exchange of values.
She stated that they are unique, not in what the organisation says or claims to be, but rather in the shared experiences of their ever-expanding community, which has led them to so many Sierra Leoneans in Canada to help and make the project a success.
“SALNAM is dedicated to the development of a strong and identifiable Sierra Leonean community and to facilitate a successful integration of members into the mainstream of Canadian society,” Ms. Ganda said, adding that through hard work they also help the community to promote and maintain its rich cultural values in a multicultural society.
The project manager said they were also working with underserved rural communities especially women, youth and children to provide measurable and sustainable improvement in their physical, economic, political wellbeing through affordable community healthcare service delivery and skills development initiatives.
Community head woman at Regent, Elenorah J. Metzger, said though they have received lots of donations from different Sierra Leoneans, the people were happy to receive another from both organisations.
She added that the community was still in need of lot of amenities as they recover from the twin disasters last year.
One of the beneficiaries, Mohamed Marrah thanked the donors for what he described the love and concern they have shown to them, adding that the donations manifest that that they were not grappling with their challenges alone as there are people out there thinking of them.