By Sam Pratt
At State House on 23 January 2020 a delegation from the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) led by its President and Chief Executive Officer, Sean Callahan, met with His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio and commended his Government’s strides in human capital development.
CRS works with organisations around the world to help poor and vulnerable people overcome emergencies, earn a living through agriculture and access affordable health care. In Sierra Leone, they concentrate on four main sectors – education, health, urban resilience and agriculture-livelihoods.
Mr Callahan said that the elevation of the status of CRS would not only help them be part of the discussion and strategic planning but would also put them in a position of regular advocacy with international donors while uniting with the Government’s plan.
He also said that they were inspired by the school feeding programme, which they were pleased to support. He added that they were aware of the level of participation from the communities and noted that that was an opportunity to collaborate for the benefit of the people.
Country Representative of CRS, Paul Emes, thanked the President and his Government for supporting their programmes, in particular, the launch of the school feeding programme, the honour of the Order of the Rokel in recognition of their work in the country and the approval of the agreement of their legal status in the country.
On his part, President Bio congratulated the CRS for the attainment of a new status, saying that the country had fond memories of the good work they had done. He also mentioned that the programmes of CRS were in line with his Government’s flagship programme of Human Capital Development.
