BY IBRAHIM JOENAL SESAY
232NEWS, FREETOWN
It was a colorful scene over the weekend at the New Life International Academy, Simbo Town on the rock as the Sierra Leone-China Friendship Association (SiLCHA) through its Small Small Chinese Project organized the second Small Small Chinese Christmas Party for dozens of pupils from different schools in Bo City with the support of the Chinese Embassy in Freetown.
SiLCHA founder, Mariatu Kargbo, the Black Perl of China in a video speech from China said that they believed that Sierra Leone is not just Freetown and that is why they want to reach every part of the country with the Chinese goodwill message.
She expressed gratitude to the Chinese government and people and further expressed hopes that together they can extend the project to other parts of the country and increase its scale in future years.
She applauded the effort of the Chinese Embassy in Freetown for what she described as their timely intervention in the educational sector.
Delivering his Keynote address via video, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the Republic of Sierra Leone, H.E. Wang Qing expressed delight to attendees for that day’s event.
He said few days to come, it would be China’s most important traditional festival, the Chinese New Year.
“On behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Sierra Leone, I would like to extend my sincere wishes to all the friends from both Sierra Leone and China. I wish you all good health, prosperity, happiness and good luck in the coming Chinese New Year, the year of Dragon,” he said.
H.E. Wang Qing described 2023 as a memorable year, adding that with the wise leadership of the two heads of state, China and Sierra Leone have also taken a new step in exchanges and cooperation in various fields, which made their traditional friendship stronger and their practical cooperation more fruitful. He expressed his heartfelt thanks to all those who have been supporting and caring for the friendship between China and Sierra Leone.
He furthered that the friendship between nations lies in the closeness of people. As it turns out，language is the best bridge of communication as well as the carrier of culture and information.
“In the past years, I have met many Sierra Leonean friends from all walks of life，they all always greet me with a warm “你好””谢谢””再见”. I can feel that Sierra Leonean people are very interested in China, and are eager to know more about Chinese Culture. Through learning Chinese, you will be able to fully appreciate the charm and colorfulness of China, a huge country with profound history, and thus enrich your knowledge and experience of the world,” he said.
He further stated that for a long time, SiLCHA has made important contributions to spreading Chinese language and culture, enhancing mutual understanding and promoting cooperation between the two sides, which has played an important role in enriching the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership between China and Sierra Leone.
“I highly appreciate your efforts on the promotion of people-to-people contact and the consolidated traditional friendship between our two countries. In the coming new year，I hope all of you will continue to spread the Chinese language and culture，and explore a true, colorful, and panoramic China continuously,” he stated.
“I also hope that the Chinese language and culture will bring us closer and create a better understanding of each other’s culture and lifestyles, so that we can move forward hand in hand to enrich the China-Sierra Leone relations and welcome a brighter future! The Embassy and I will continue to pay attention to the ‘Small Small Chinese’ programme and provide support to the best of our ability,” he said.
SiLCHA Chairperson, Mrs. Onike King explained the rationale behind SiLCHA and the Small Small Chinse Project which she said came through Mariatu Kargbo.
“It is the dream of SiLCHA to take the Chinese culture and language across. We wants to make the people of Sierra Leone know that China is our brother and we are in great partnership,” she said.
She maintained that language is very vital and that if kids learn them now, it will pave the way for them to go beyond boarders with easy.
She said the kids stand to benefit a lot both moral and physically.
Bo Town Court Clark, John A. Sabondoh expressed joy to see SiLCHA in Bo for the first time, and he welcomed SiLCHA to Bo and encouraged the kids to embrace the opportunity given to them.
Councilor Mrs. Rose Marie Jalloh, said it is but fitting for their children to learn different languages including Chinese. She commended SiLCHA for giving back to China not to only receiving, which she said is the real meaning of a win-win situation.
The pupils showcased their talents in different performances, and SiLCHA presented assorted gifts to pupils, teachers among other top guests.
