The National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) over the weekend continued its nationwide response to fire and windstorm victims in Moyamba District. The provision of relief support items targeted the Tower Christian Primary School, Ribbi Chiefdom, which had its roof blown off by a heavy windstorm affecting 108 pupils, the Boarding Home of the Prosperity Girls School that was gutted by fire and 20 houses in Gbamina Village, Tandale Chiefdom that also got burnt by a fire outbreak in September 2021.
In October last year, the NDMA dispatched its officers to conduct a comprehensive assessment to ascertain the cause of the various reported incidents, the affected population and determine the type of response and proffer recommendations. Following approval from the Office of the President and the provision of mammoth food and non-food items to respond to the victims across the country through the NDMA, the Agency over the weekend was in Moyamba District to respond to the above-mentioned windstorm and fire victims.
At Tower Christin Primary School, the NDMA provided 10 bundles of zinc, 10 packets of roofing nails, 10 packets of 4 inches nails and 10 packets of 3inches nails to the school administration. Receiving the items, the Principal of the School, Osman Raka Sesay, expressed his satisfaction, thanking NDMA for the support. “The donation is timely. I would like to appreciate the NDMA and the government for thinking about us in this time of need and for responding quickly”, he said.
The Prosperity Girls High School received consignments as relief support from the NDMA which comprised: 10 bundles of zinc, 10 packets of roofing nail, 10 packets of 4 inches nail, 10 packets of 3 inches nail, 28 pieces of foam mattresses, 28 pieces of spread pillows, 28 pieces of bedspreads, 28 pieces of blankets, 28 rubber buckets and 6 cartoons of sanitary pads. This support is aimed at helping the school rebuild and getting the affected students back in their boarding homes.
Receiving the items, the Principal of the school, Moses Marcus Wunda said the fire outbreak was caused by electrical malfunction as a result of poor solar system installation, putting the school to level zero. He further noted that the fire destroyed properties worth millions of Leones, including school supplies but fortunately, there was no casualty.
Paramount Chief, Charles Caulker, upon receiving the donation from the NDMA, stated that all of the items supplied to the school and the kids were timely and that he appreciates the government’s timely and prompt response. The NDMA continued its response at Gbemina Village where 20 houses were burnt down and affected 24 households.
The Agency donated 5 bundles of zinc, 5 packets of 4- and 3-inches nails to each of the 20 affected landlords, and also provided a 50kg bag of rice, jerry can, rubber buckets, soap, blankets and vegetable cooking oil to each of the 24 affected households.
Handing over the relief items in Ribbie and Rotifunk Chiefdoms, the Deputy Director of Relief and Response, Morlu Brewa noted that a total of 1,190 houses and a population of 20,013 have been attended to across the country and described the incidents as “shocking”. He however said the Agency was relieved that no live(s) were lost. Mr Brewa further expressed delight that the NDMA was able to assist the school with relief items because it is one of President Bio’s priorities to ensure that all students attend school and are in a safe environment.
He said the government was ready to assist all school-going children and to resolve any disaster-related issue, noting that the country is faced with numerous disasters and that the Agency will assist in relief support whenever disasters occur. The Deputy Director of Partnership, NDMA, Alima Mansaray while presenting the donated relief items in Tandale Chiefdom, urged the students to pay close attention to what they are being taught and admonished the girls not to allow themselves to be distracted, noting that among them would be physicians, lawyers, accountants, or occupy other significant positions in society in the future.
Miss Mansaray further expressed her gratitude to the school authorities for their relentless dedication to the students and appealed to the school officials to use the donated items for their intended purpose. “The government, through the National Disaster Management Agency will continue to serve the people of Sierra Leone as part of President Bio’s objective in ensuring disaster-related matters are responded to when they occur and mitigated to avoid future reoccurrences”, she concluded.
The provision of relief support to windstorm and fire victims across the country continues.
For More Enquiries:
Directorate of Communications
National Disaster Management Agency
Contact: +23278388946
Email: mohamedlbah@ndma.gov.sl
