December 3, 2015 By Victoria Saffa
Caritas Freetown yesterday launched a mobile health clinic at the Archbishop Brosnaham Hall, Santano House in Freetown.
The mobile clinic is part of response to the prevention and strengthening of health and psychosocial science for the Ebola affected population in the Western Area of Sierra Leone.
The project is themed “Mobile health psychosocial support outreach” which aims to reach out to forty vulnerable communities in the Western Area”.
Launching the project, District Health Management Team lead, Dr. Thomas T. Samba said Sierra Leone needs a vibrant healthcare facility as health is the divine need, adding that ensuring good health to the people is paramount and can only be realised when people have access to proper healthcare facilities.
He described Caritas Freetown as a formidable partner in taking health to the most deprived and needy. “We want to thank you for this support and hope to continue this partnership,” said Dr. Samba
His Grace, the Catholic Archbishop of Freetown, Rev. Dr. Edward Tamba Charles, while giving the keynote address said the mission of the church is to proclaim the gospel, adding that as a church they support people to realise their full human potential and in doing this they reach out to the weak, vulnerable and those in need.
He said the church follows what the gospel says in John 10:10, adding that Jesus fed the multitude when they were hungry and that this is exactly what the church is translating today by way of promoting human beings, just like from its very beginning.
“Caritas means love in action and this is what we translate in reaching out to the poor and needy. As a church we have different projects at our disposal, peace and development, human rights and now the health component. We will also respond to other areas as the need arises,” he said.
Giving the overview of the project, Executive Director of Caritas, Reverend Father Peter Konteh said Caritas is a family with several branches and that all four dioceses in the country have their respective Caritas which are also engaged in programmes and activities, with international partners who provide support.
The Catholic Church, he said, has two wings – the religious and development – and that what they preach and teach is translated into what they do. “What we demonstrate on the pulpit is what we translate in our development work. In our other project we speak about the development and wellbeing of the people, today we are launching our health project to response to the health needs of communities,” he said.
He revealed the project will directly benefit 5000 children, 1000 lactating mothers, including survivors in forty communities, targeting the most deprived and vulnerable.