October 26, 2020 (232News)
FREETOWN – Planned Parenthood Association Sierra Leone (PPA-SL) as a means of reaching out to remote communities supported Concern with 5 bicycles.
At a colorful ceremony held at PPA-SL headquarters in Freetown on Wednesday 21st October 2020, both parties expressed joy for a start of a new relationship.
The donated bicycles are meant for the physically challenged to use it as part of PPA-SL empowerment drive for communities to benefit from their services.
PPA-SL Executive Director, Mr. Williams said what they did that day is part of their mandate. He said their main donor required them to work with all including the physically challenged.
According to him, the physically challenged group has been neglected over the years, making friend with them make them feel happy.
He said the training is for them to promote and provide the services to their communities because their intention is to make the services easily accessible.
“A group like this constitutes a number of people in society, you interact and you know how to address each other. You have a very important role to play.”
He cautioned them that the training is not for them to inject people in their community but they have limitation because they gave them non-prescriptive contractive which does not involve captain ban, injection, pill or condom.
“Don’t go beyond the training we have given you. We train you to be community base service provider.”
He spoke about the MOU they signed with Concern as a first step to the friendship as they want to do more than this.
“We are giving you for a purpose and we expect returns through your report on the use of the products.”
PPA-SL Director of Programs Thaim Kargbo gave a brief background about the start of the relationship between PPA-SL and Concern.
He said they received a letter from Concern about the partnership and they noticed that Concern is working with the physically challenged.
Kargbo went on to say they have been thinking of ways to extend their services to the physically challenged.
He spoke about the MOU they signed; submitted names and location of physically challenged people and the names of the beneficiaries which he insisted must be women that have reached the sexual reproductive age and that was signed by the chairman of Concern and PPA-SL Executive Director.
He said for them to have sexual reproductive service effective to the disability community, they trained the women. The bicycles were donated by a Japanese friend, he said.
He pointed out that they want to promote the family planning work as they noticed that the physically challenge people are giving too many birth which is not by their own making.
“We want to take the services to them, not for them to come for it. We are taking the service to the hard to reach areas.”
He continued to say that they have trained them as community base providers and that they are asking them to take the work serious as they have over 140 community base providers volunteers across the country.
Concern Representative expressed appreciation to PPA-SL for what they have done.
One of the beneficiaries, Michaela F. Jaka from House of Jesus home expressed joy for the gesture extended to them by PPA-SL and Concern. She said this is the first involvement of disable by PPA-SL.
“We were left out; I have given birth to 4 children at my age and it is only now I know about preventive.”
Also present at the ceremony were representative from Pandemba road, Light foot Boasting Street and ECOWAS Street disability homes.
