By Amin Kef Sesay
In recognition of his outstanding and excellent contributions in telling the untold stories of the less privileged children in the country, including those with disabilities and orphans, making them “visible”, one of the most ambitious youth activists and journalists in the country, Foday Moriba Conteh, was on the 12thNovember, 2021 among other selected personalities that bagged the “Humanitarian Goodwill Award 2021” from the Orphan Empowerment Society during a well organized and not to be soon forgotten event which was held at the City Hall Auditorium in Freetown.
Foday Moriba Conteh is a young Sierra Leonean journalist working for The Calabash Newspaper, a youth activist, a public speaker and debater whose immense contributions towards the development of young people is unbreakable.
As a youth, he is a member of many youth organizations in and
outside of Sierra Leone and his contributions towards nation building and youth development is invaluable.
As a result, in 2018, Foday was recognized as a New Generation Leadership Africa Ambassador by the Ministry of Youth Affairs. In 2020 he was also recognized as a New Generation Leadership Africa Youth Achiever Honorable Ambassador during the National Youth Leadership Summit through the Youth and Children’s Advocacy Panel. In the same year, he was also recognized by the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences as MBRU Community Immunity Ambassador after successfully completing a course in, “Let’s Break the Chain of COVID-19 infection”.
Some of the awardees who were also awarded on that day include the Managing Director of Rokel Commercial Bank, Ekundayo Gilpin Walton, Executive Director of Citizen’s Advocacy Network, Thomas Moore Conteh, Mayor of Freetown City Council, Yvonne Aki-Sawyer, Commissioner of Anti-Corruption Commission, Francis Ben Kaifala, among others.
Speaking during the ceremony, the Country Coordinator for the Orphans Empowerment Society Sierra Leone, Amb Alie Conteh, stated that tragically, millions of children all over the globe have become orphaned for many reasons: war, famine, displacement, disease or poverty, adding that to make sure that they are not forgotten, once a year a special day is dedicated to them: World Orphan Day, which, he said, falls on the second Monday of each November.
He furthered that this special day has been put aside in order to draw attention to the plight of the world’s orphans disclosing how on that day people are encouraged to actively participate in helping raise awareness, support and raise funds for motherless and fatherless children worldwide.
Amb. Alie Conteh said that World Orphan Day was created to raise awareness about the number of children in this world who lack something most of us take for granted: parents and that the Orphan Empowerment Society wish is to motivate people to do anything they can to help orphans.
“With a desire to take care of the orphans left behind by war and a commitment to help bring an end to orphan poverty in Africa, an integral part of the Orphan Empowerment Society agenda is to bring humanitarians and leaders from across AFRICA to participate as our organization decided to appreciate and recognize stakeholders for their outstanding and excellent services towards orphans and less privileged children in the country with Humanitarian Goodwill Awards as part of our Public Awareness and Advocacy work on behalf of orphans,” he stated.
Commenting on the award, Foday Moriba Conteh expressed profound appreciation to the Orphans Empowerment Society Sierra Leone for recognizing his efforts towards his contributions to Orphans and the less privileged in the country.
He disclosed that the number of orphans and abandoned children in the country and the world as a whole is increasing day by day due to natural or man-made causes and that while it is not possible to prevent children from becoming orphans and vulnerable, so much can be done to reduce factors causing orphan hood.
Foday Moriba Conteh called on organizations to support orphans and the less privileged children stating how such is a national concern, furthering that it is time to ensure that no child is left behind as every child matters regardless of his or her status.
He assured of his continuous support towards Orphans and the less privileged children in the country, furthering that he will use his profession to raise awareness on issues affecting Orphans in the country with the aim of making Sierra Leone a safe space for Orphans.
