State House, Freetown, Monday 18 November 2019 – Executive members of the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society led by its Secretary-General, Kpawuru Sandy, have met at State House to update His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio on their operations and activities in the country.
He said that they deeply admired the disciplined and courageous leadership of President Bio, adding that they were truly inspired by that. He said the Red Cross Society had been a reliable partner to Sierra Leone, noting that since 1962 their volunteers across the country had supported the government and vulnerable people as well as helped to alleviate human suffering and promoted respect for human dignity.
“During the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease, the Red Cross Society stood with the government of Sierra Leone. Our volunteers, across the country, led safe and dignified burial activities and psychosocial support. Also after the mudslide, we were around to provide search, rescue and relief support. That has been our mandate since our establishment. We have 18,000 volunteers across the country who are community-based, trained and capacitated to support our people whenever the need arises,” he said.
Mr. Sandy commended the President for introducing the Free Quality Education Programme, saying that that had led to the influx of pupils into schools and provided an opportunity for the Red Cross to strengthen their activities around fostering, sensitising and empowering students to be lifesavers. He added that across the country they had been able to improve on their activities with school clubs and assured that they would continue to empower children with lifesaving skills that would help the nation.
In his brief response, President Bio said: “I thank you for coming to present the situation of the society to us and to thank you for all you have done for this nation. The Red Cross Society has been part of our development process and the challenges we have had. We appreciate your efforts and we would continue to work with you”.
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