By Foday Moriba Conteh
With the objective of continuing to give support to the Aged in the country, the Residential Elderly Care Foundation though the support from the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) on Tuesday 23rd November 2021 donated food items worth millions of Leones to the Aged in four selected communities which include Congo Town, Orloshoro, Gwent Height/Red pump, Tengbeh Town and Wilberforce Barracks. The donated food items, which included 100 bags of 50kg rice and 100 gallon of cooking oil (20kg) ,were presented at the Other Ranks Canteen at Wilberforce Barracks in Freetown.
Speaking during the ceremony, the Administrative Manager of the Residential Elderly Care Foundation, Karifa Kello Thoronka, commended the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) for supporting them to undertake the donation of those food items to the Aged.
He revealed that months back they wrote a letter to the Agency to support their Foundation and they will turn support the Aged, adding that in responding to the appeal the Agency decided to support them with 100 bags of rice (50kg) and 100 gallon of cooking oil (20kg) which they are distributing to these old people as beneficiaries.
He disclosed that the Foundation is a grass root, registered, non-profit making Charity Organization established in early 2020 in Freetown with the main objective to care for the old/aged, poor/or weak people at their residents hence the name ‘Residential Elderly Care Foundation’, adding that the Foundation has supported the Aged through the donation of food and non-food items from four different communities around Freetown which include Congo Town, Red Pump, Tengbeh Town and Wilberforce.
The Administrative Manager maintained that the donations were driven from the community survey conducted by the Foundation in October 2020 to identify the real beneficiaries and their urgent needs of which most the Aged who were contacted highlighted food items and medical as their urgent needs, pointing out that the Foundation has also partnered with the 34 Military Hospital as professional doctors from the 34 Military Hospital support the Aged with medical check-ups and treatment.
On his part, the Deputy Director of Relief and Response at the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), Morlu Brewah, noted that they are pleased on behalf of His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio, whom out of his wisdom, is trying to deal with disaster management issues in the country. He revealed that the National Disaster Management Agency was established as a stand-alone Agency to support the Residential Elderly Care Foundation with 100 bags of rice (50kg) and 100 gallon of cooking oil (20kg) in order to support the Aged in four communities.
He stated that since inception the agency has so far responded to 99 disasters, 1190 affected houses, 4,148 affected households, 23 public facilities, with a total of 20013 people across the country.
Morlu Brewah used the opportunity to advice all present that they have a role to play in mitigating disaster in their communities of which he encouraged them to desist from activities that will lead to disaster occurrence in their different communities.
Abdul Kamara, one of the beneficiaries, applauded the Residential Elderly Care Foundation and the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) for considering them at this crucial moment in their lives.
He called on other organizations to follow the footprint of the Residential Elderly Care Foundation in supporting the Aged with these food items which he said are not only important but also maintained that it was a timely intervention as the Aged are in dire need of food and non-food items.
