History was made on Monday 12th February, 2024 as the Budapest-Bamako-Freetown Rally reached the Western Area Urban with three prominent Sierra Leoneans at the Finish Line at Gigibonta Park, Lumley Beach in west end Freetown.
What was very unique about the Third Edition of the Budapest-Bamako-Freetown Rally was that this is the first time that three Sierra Leoneans fully participated in the rally. They are the Managing Director of Leonoil Company Limited (LEONCO), Ibrahim Derosimi Cole, popular Sierra Leonean Rapper, Benjamin John whose stage name is Drizilik, and Mohamed Waritay, the brain behind Puzzle Piece. The three are from Puzzle Piece who represented the country in this year’s Budapest-Bamako-Freetown Rally.
Puzzle Piece is an organization pushing for the awareness of Autism in Sierra Leone and around the world. Autism is an abnormal self-absorption, usually affecting children, characterized by lack of response to people and limited ability to communicate, such as children with mental illness or are blind.
According to the LEONCO Managing Director, Ibrahim Cole, he participated in the Budapest-Bamako-Freetown Rally to not only raise the Green, White and Blue Flag of Mama Salone, but to also raise awareness about Autism which is affecting millions of children around the world who are the future leaders, including Sierra Leone.
The MD averred that it was about time we started raising awareness about Autism to save the future generations as a nation.
Ibrahim Cole therefore called on Sierra Leoneans to complement the effort of Puzzle Piece in raising awareness on Autism.
At the Finish Line of the Budapest-Bamako-Freetown Rally at the Gigibonta Park, Lumley Beach, what drew the attention of the participants and the on-looking mammoth crowd was when the LEONCO MD Ibrahim Cole was warmly hugged by his biological father, Alhaji Dr. Mohamed Babatunde Cole, amidst family members, colleague workers, friends and well-wishers respectively.
