Salone News

Kambia: Financial support for WESOFOD

6 February 2015 at 10:09 | 870 views

By Hassan Bruz

The Welfare Society for the Disabled, an association of persons with disabilities in the Northern district of Kambia otherwise known as WESOFOD, has recently received a cheque for fifteen million Leones and a consignment of food items from the Commission of Disabled Persons in Sierra Leone.

The donation was intended as modest support to WESOFOD in its frantic efforts to actualize the dream of running what it calls a Skills Training and Production Centre.

The fifteen million Leones cheque was handed over to the founder and director of WESOFOD, Joseph Allieu Kamara at a well attended ceremony.

The ceremony was graced by the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Gender and Children Affairs, Hon. Mustapha Bai Attilla (first from left in photo). He commended the active role played by the CDP in the fight against Ebola and for ensuring that the spread of the virus in the Kambia District is controlled as compared to other sister districts in the country.

The Deputy Minister used the opportunity to brief the disabled on the remarkable role of President Ernest Bai Koroma in salvaging the plight of persons with disabilities in the country.

He said President "Ernest Honest Sincerity Bai Koroma" has not only redeemed them from being a laughing stock, to which they had been reduced by society, to an upgraded and enviable status.

He said now that they have been recognised as fellow human beings with equal opportunities, they should be mindful of the fact that it is practically impossible for all their concerns to be addressed at a single go. He however assured them of Government’s continued support and encouraged all to remain united and refrain from all forms of lawlessness.

Fredrick J .M Kamara (second from left in photo) is the Chief Commissioner and Chairman of the Commission for Disabled Persons in Sierra Leone. He explained how President Koroma has made it possible for them to be considered as first class citizens of this country.

He spoke of the March and April 2011 Act of Parliament which has removed all forms of discrimination against persons with disabilities. The Chief Commissioner cited the case of a lady in Makeni who was about to be denied the right to inherit the house of her father simply because she is a disabled person. She prevailed.

He said the commission has decided to substantially support the Skills and Income Generating Project at the Village of Hope in Kambia because they are convinced that the funds will be utilized for the intended purpose.

Earlier in his welcome address,Joseph Allieu Kamara, the founder and director for the disabled at the Village of Hope in Kambia said his organisation was formed in 2004 with the key objective of bringing persons with disabilities together and for them to be able to speak with one voice on issues affecting them.

Kamara said the idea for the establishment of a skills training and income generating centre was developed after the civil conflict in the country. He said most of them came from from the Polio Home in Kambia and were under the care of some missionaries .He said the missionaries were subsequently abducted during the war by the rebels and decide to return to their respective countries just after their release.

He added that their situation became hopeless as there was no one to ably care for them after those missionaries had left the country.

Kamara pointed out that the hopelessness of the situation compelled some of his colleagues to go on to the streets and become drug addicts. He said others turned out to be street beggars, while their female colleagues converted themselves into commercial sex workers.

He informed the gathering that WESOFOD has been able to bring together a large number of people with disabilities within the district of Kambia, some of whom have been supported in schools and vocational centres.

Kamara also revealed that another major achievement is the breaking down of what he referred to as structural barriers in schools and medical institutions, such as the construction of ramps and the enlargement of school doors and toilets for disabled persons to access such facilities with comparative ease.

WESOFOD, he continued, also operates a residential and rehabilitation centre for the most vulnerable children with disabilities through the assistance of Sunday Foundation , Liliane Foundation ,Abilies Foundation and the Children in Crises in the U K.

Joseph Allieu Kamara however singled out the attitude of stakeholders in terms of accepting and caring for the concerns of people with disabilities as one of the crucial challenges they were faced with noting that they were still being viewed as either a liability or as mere beggars in society.

He spoke on the active part WESOFOD played in the fight against Ebola and how they recently assisted over 400 communities with Veronica buckets used to clean hands with chlorine and water.

He said the construction of a residential and rehabilitation centre together with the construction of a home for students who come from distant places and who could not secure accommodation in the community are some of his pending plans and therefore appealed for funding.

Allieu Martin Fatmata Sesay is the Commissioner in charge of the Northern Region. In his remarks, he recalled his previous visit to the district when he came to address the issue of a female colleague that was being maltreated at her marital home.

Commissioner Kamara said the purpose of the visit was in response to an earlier appeal made to the Commission by WESOFOD founder Allieu Kamara. He also used the opportunity to commend the disabled persons in the district for their relentless efforts in the fight against Ebola.

The vote of thanks was moved by Madam Saffie Kamara who praised the Commission for its proactive intervention.

A view of the WESOFOD skills training centre for the disabled.

Some of the people assisted by WESOFOD in Kambia.

Another view of the WESOFOD skills training centre.

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