October 14, 2015 By Hassan Gbassay Koroma
As part of their corporate social responsibility, cement manufacturing company LEOCEM on Friday (October 9) donated assorted items, including foams, cooking pots, toiletries and school materials worth millions of leones to victims of the September 16 flooding disaster residing in the Cline Town community in the east of Freetown.
Speaking during the handing over ceremony at the Bishop Crowther Primary School at Cline Town, LEOCEM’s Managing Director, Arne Johansen, said they see their intervention as a way of sympathizing with the flood victims in the community, noting: “We want to let you know that no matter what happens, we will continue to regard you as our host.”
He stated that the company was aware of the heavy downpour of rain that caused flooding in the community and other parts of the capital Freetown, leading to the loss of lives and properties.
“After the rains, we took a tour of the community and realized that properties worth millions of leones were destroyed due to the flooding,” said MD Johansen. “We are thankful to God that nobody lost his or her life to the flood in the Cline Town community. It was after the tour and assessment of the damage caused that we came up with the initiative of helping those affected.”
The LEOCEM Managing Director further pointed out that because they realized that after the flooding many people lost properties, they decided to donate to the victims their most pressing needs. He assured that they will be engaging the community people to chart the way forward on how to avoid future disasters of such nature.
“We will also engage the government to provide land to relocate the victims,” he said.
Also speaking, All People’s Congress (APC) Member of Parliament representing Constituency 103, Hon. Rosaline J. Smith, thanked the LEOCEM Managing Director and team for the donation, adding that the company has always been helpful to the community.
“The company is not only making donations to the community, but they are also providing scholarships to school-going children, including those pursuing courses in tertiary institutions. They have also helped the youths to acquire vocational skills,” she said.
The victims expressed their appreciation to the company for providing them with their immediate needs as they recover from the disaster that left a lot of them devastated.