October 1, 2015
NRA’s acting Commissioner-General, Mr. Abdulai Conteh, has hailed the extraordinary efforts of many Sierra Leoneans to provide support for flood victims temporarily sheltered at the National Stadium. “Since the Ebola outbreak and President Koroma’s appeal to our humanity, I am pleased to note that many Sierra Leoneans are now willingly and independently embarking on humanitarian missions in support of fellow Sierra Leoneans in times of crisis. This benevolence and humanitarian philosophy is being demonstrated again with many individuals and institutions donating relief suppliers, food and comfort to those affected by the Wednesday 16th Septemberflood disaster that ravaged Freetown and left many people dead and homeless,” he said.
Mr. Conteh, who was speaking during NRA’s 3rd donation to flood victims at the National Stadium on Monday 28th September, spoke of his pride in the way Sierra Leoneans are responding to humanitarian emergencies in the country. “If this latest crisis is a test of our humanity, we are indeed passing with flying colours with such acts of generosity,” he remarked.
Conteh, who is also Director of Finance, noted that the NRA was among the first institutions that responded in the immediate aftermath of the disaster to address the urgent needs of flood victims by providing much needed assistance, which helped ensured that they had access to hot meals, water and other relief supplies. He disclosed that items donated so far by the NRA include 16 cartons of sardine, 34 boxes of biscuit, 20 carton butter, 24 crates soft drink, 94 cartons of water, over 1000 pieces of bread, 900 foil packets of cooked food, and 10 bundles of used clothing worth over Le100 million.
“As an institution, the NRA respects the right to human dignity which is why we immediately responded to help relieve the sufferings of those impacted by the flood. These people are not only our brothers and sisters, but also our taxpayers. We cannot let them suffer alone,” he said.
Conteh explained that each year, the NRA provides support to many people through it corporate social responsibility programmes. He stated that the institution has for example adopted the Gbomsamba village to boost community development in the country, as well as established a trust fund to support the families of Ebola health victims.
“We know that people count on us to help them in their darkest hour. For a long time, we have provided support to the vulnerable and underprivileged across the country,” Mr. Conteh further pointed out while commending the Commissioner-General, Madam Haja Kallah-Kamara, for her exemplary humanitarian leadership. The NRA, he noted, has strengthened its corporate social responsibility programmes in recent years, adding that this would not have been possible without the support of its Board of Directors and most importantly the taxpayers.
He thanked taxpayers for their goodwill, and praised volunteers and the government for havingworked hard to provide flood survivors with temporary shelters, co-ordinate relief efforts and offer emotional support to help them cope with their displacement. He urged all Sierra Leoneans to continue with their humanitarian assistance to ensure that people in affected communities return to normalcy.
“I am aware that the scale of the disaster and humanitarian needs is enormous. Nevertheless, the generosity, kindness and charity being exemplified by many Sierra Leoneans in helping those in need denote a positive change in responding to humanitarian emergencies in the country,” he concluded.