Newsletter

PRESS RELEASE

Kenema Mayor Commission's hospital

The Mayor of the Kenema City Council (KCC) Chief Brima Kargbo past Monday officially commissioned the newly rehabilitated ward one building at the government hospital in Kenema city. Officially handing over the keys of the building to the doctor in charge, the Mayor thanked the Sierra Leone Kenema District Development Mission (SLKDDM) in the USA for providing the funds for the rehabilitation process which he estimated to be in the tune of $10,000. Chief Kargbo lauded the effort of the nurses and doctors attached to the government hospital for their hard work and ensuring that people of Kenema district get access to quality health service delivery. Chief Kargbo called on Chiefdom authorities in the District to help provide the hospital with labour manpower in the cleaning and construction of additional wards for the government hospital in the city. The Mayor pointed out that it is disheartening to see wards at the government hospital in Kenema go without light for days and months.

In his statement the field coordinator at Sierra Leone Kenema District Mission residing in Kenema city David Kumba disclosed that his organization spent about 30 million Leones in rehabilitating the ward at the hospital adding that the money was from contributions made by members in his organization in the USA. Mr. Kumba revealed that SLKDDM was founded by children from Kenema District Eastern Sierra Leone who are based in the United States with the aim of helping their brothers and sisters back home. Kumba catalogued the distribution of drugs to Kenema government hospital, rehabilitation of toilet facilities as some of the contributions made to the development of the Kenema District hospital in the past and called on the indigenes of the district in other parts of the globe to join efforts in developing the District so that generation yet unborn will benefit.

Can you imagine going to a hospital that has no toilets?

It has been brought to the attention of the Board of Directors of the Sierra Leone Kenema District Development Mission (SLKDDM), that there is a critical situation in the Kenema District Government Hospital with its sanitation system. After investigating an article about the sanitation at the hospital published in the Concord Times on June 26, 2008, we have confirmed that the septic tank is broken, the toilets are overflowing and there is no drainage. Patients, staff and visitors are forced to ask neighbors to use their toilets.

This is a potential health crisis with far reaching implications and requires urgent attention and immediate action.

Therefore, SLKDDM has formed a taskforce to assist in finding both short and long term solutions to this terrible situation and we are calling on everyone, government agencies, other non-profit organizations, religious groups and charities as well as individuals:

PLEASE PITCH IN AND HELP US.

If you have the means available please send us a donation, if you do not, then please spread the word to those that can help.