September 10, 2015 By Elkass Sannoh
One of Sierra Leone’s leading exploration companies, AMR Gold, has donated 50kg bags of rice plus a reasonable amount of money for condiments to 40 aged women at Kathantha village in Northern Sierra Leone.
The donation, worth four thousand United States dollars according to the company, was necessitated to provide livelihood support to the unprivileged aged women in that part of the country.
Addressing the women, the Section Chief of Kamakwie, Pa Alhaji Alimamy Soko Turay, said he was elated for such support as “the food is a life-support to my people”.
Making reference to the Mines and Minerals Act of 2009, Chief Turay disclosed that even though the Act does not make it compulsory for an exploration company to undertake any corporate social responsibility activities, AMR Gold has been doing extremely well in supporting locals at both Sella Limba and Sanda Loko chiefdoms.
He said: “AMR Gold’s management has never ceased to amaze us with their philanthropic gestures. On behalf of the Paramount Chief of Sella Limba Chiefdom, PC Kandeh Luseni III, I must confess that we are impressed with the company’s livelihood support to our people.”
Youth leader of Kathantha village, Ballah Bangura, revealed that he was asked to identify the felt needs of his people and that after a comprehensive assessment, he realised that the aged women could no longer fend for themselves especially at a time when the deadly Ebola virus has badly affected the country’s development.
“I know that my fellow youth are in need of jobs; we also need health facilities and a community center, but food is a basic human need.”
According to him, granting his request speaks volumes of the fact that AMR Gold is there to provide the needs of his people and the chiefdom in general. He called on the company’s management to do more as some people will criticize them just to divert their attention from their developmental activities.
“We are here to stay and provide more jobs for the youth,” said Foday Fofanah, AMR Gold Project Geologist, adding that “we would do more if you continue to provide an investor friendly environment”.
He disclosed that AMR Gold’s application for small scale mining has been approved by the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources, and that the company is looking forward to kick-starting its mining alongside exploration activities in Sella Limba Chiefdom.