9rivermedia

Just a few hours after a community fulfilled its obligation to bury those who died on the Wellington highway, politicians had already coopted the tragedy with promises they had no intention to keep.  Once all the flag-draped caskets were laid out, the victims (some still unknown) were interred at Waterloo, the same cemetery where Ebola victims and the 2017 mudslide victims were also laid rest, according to Freetown Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr. Anxious not to be painted as uncaring, politicians launched donation drives for survivors instead of stressing efforts to reduce road casualties, draw attention to the devastation caused by road crashes, and give recognition to the suffering of road crash victims and the work of support and rescue services. Before moving on to their suburbs, where neighbors don't plunder fuel tankers involved in road crashes or scavenge palm oil streaming from overturned trucks, politicians did remember to pose one last time for the mobile phones.  For peop...

  When Oprah Winfrey founded the Leadership Academy for Girls in 2007, she became a symbol in Johannesburg, South Africa, and for many schools across Africa. Sadly, the Oprah Winfrey Kindergarten and Primary School in Calaba Town, Sierra Leone (also founded in 2007) has never had quite enough to keep it running like the one that the famous American billionaire is personally invested in. Still, the community keeps striving to break the cycle of poverty. Calaba Town lies on the outskirts of Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. Built after the Civil War (1991–2002), the reconstruction town is home to internally-displaced people who relocated.   In 2009, the Madieu Williams Foundation funded a primary school named after American footballer's mother, Abigail D. Butscher, in Calaba Town.  Sierra Leonean-born Williams played in America's National Football League (NFL). He was drafted in 2004 and went on to play for NFL teams in Minnesota, San Francisco, and the footbal...

  Sierra Leone's Ministry of Health and Sanitation has issued a public notice about its COVID-19 vaccination drive. According to the notice, the first phase began on Monday, March  22, and will continue through Wednesday, March 31. Target beneficiaries are below: Health care workers (Public & Private) Every Health care worker irrespective of age. Military Officers Age 40 years and above Police Officers Age 40 years and above Fire Force Officers Age 40 years and above Prison Officers Age 40 years and above Teachers (Public & Private) Age 40 years and above Lecturers and Instructors (Public & Private) Age 40 years and above Social Workers Age 40 years and above Custom & Immigration Officers Age 40 years and above General Public Age 70 years and above The following health facilities have been designated as vaccination sites:  BOMBALI  Makeni Gov’t Hospital  Kamabai CHC KONO  Koidu Gov’t Hospital  UMC Jiama Sewafe MOYAMBA  Moyamba Gov’t Hospital  Njala U...