May 17, 2018 By Mohamed Massaquoi
First Lady and a cross-section of wives of service men
First Lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone Madam Fatima Bio on Tuesday, May 15 assured members of the Armed Forces Wives Association of her unflagging support in promoting the organisation to a befitting standard, adding that it was unfortunate that such an important organisation had been neglected despite the determination of members to meaningfully contribute to the development process of the country.
Madam Bio said her husband was very much concerned about the welfare of the military and that as a former member of that institution, he was determined to improve their standard of living.
“My husband believes in the military. I heard that military families in various barracks are going through difficulties. This is the time we need to work together for the benefit of all. You have got a president that is coming from that profession, I am sure he will do his best for the military in this country,” she said.
She added that it was important that members of the organisation are given the opportunity to play their part in national development.
A member of the group, Madam Fatmata Bintu Lavahun, said it had been their practice to engage the first lady of any new government to interact and showcase the organisation.
She said they were willing to support the good work of government as their membership cut across the country.
“We are pleased to be here and to pledge our loyalty to you our First Lady and the President of the Republic. Our organisation is faced with a lot of challenges but we have been able to manage the little resources we have by engaging in some charity work at the Wilberforce community,” she said.
“We have constructed a primary school where a lot of children are now benefiting because one of the main thrusts for the formation of this organisation is to maintain unity among our members and to install dignity and hope for women and children. The motto of our organisation is ‘Unity is Strength’ and this shows that collectively we can contribute to the economic growth of our beloved country Sierra Leone.”
Madam Lavahun added that as part of their support to the military, they have given support to the medical team of the RSLAF.
“We have a lot of challenges and we want to have a secretariat where we can operate effectively because at the moment we are doing disjointed activates,” she concluded.