By Ishmael Dumbuya
Chinese Embassy and the China Medical Team have on Friday, 26th May, donated food, stationeries, and medical screening for orphans at the Children in Need Network Orphanage, Allen Town, Western Area Rural, Freetown. The donation and medical checkup was done ahead of the International Children’s Day on June 1st 2023.
Delivering his remarks, the Chinese Ambassador, Wang Qing, stated that children represent the hope and future of a nation’s development, noting that China attaches greater importance to the protection of the rights of children, both domestically and internationally.
He added that China has about 280 million, among the countries’ with the largest child population.
“We have worked relentlessly to advocate and put into practice the principle of children first by drafting and implementing three successive National Plans of Action for Child Development in an effort to fulfill the commitment of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and its relevant protocols,” he explained.
He further stated that in recent years, a series of important measures have been taken, including projects to improve nutrition of children in poverty and the three year of action program of action on pre-school education, to better safeguard the rights of children.
Ambassador Wang noted that during the last five years, they were happy to see the leadership of President Bio, adding that there were a lot of achievements by Sierra Leone in promoting Children’s rights, citing the Free Quality Education as a beneficial factor that has supported over 2 million children and made a solid foundation for Sierra Leone’s development in the future.
“The Program of Hands Off our Girls and the Free Sanitary Pad made many girls to live a safe and healthy life,” he mentioned.
In his conclusion, Ambassador Wang explained that China and Sierra Leone have been good friends and partners.
He added that China will always stay committed to help Sierra Leone in economic and social development, including enhancing the well-being of children. He emphasized that China has been providing scholarships, mobile clinics and emergency food aids.
He climaxed that the China Medical Team has over the last five years helped with diagnosis, treated over 800 thousand patients, conducted over 100 thousand cases of operation and trained over local medical staff. He explained that they stood with the people of Sierra Leone during the Ebola outbreak and COVID-19 Pandemic.
Baindu Dassama Kamara, Minister of Social Welfare and Children’s Affairs, thanked the leadership of the Chinese Embassy and that of China Medical Team for providing the items and the medical screening.
She went on to state that it’s the commitment of President Bio to improve the well-being of children in the country.
She noted that children have the right to food, clean water, and medical care, and that the Chinese Embassy support in that direction is a boost to her ministry and the Government of Sierra Leone at large.
She ended on the note that Sierra Leone under President Bio will always and committed and dedicated to the course of the Chinese Government and its Embassy in Sierra Leone.
“It is the role of the ministry to empower and transform the lives of vulnerable or underprivileged persons and families including young people, women, children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities, so the Embassy rendering its support to that course is a golden privilege.” she rounded off.
The proprietor of the Children in Need Orphanage, Madam Nna Maria Kamara, thanked and appreciated the Chinese Embassy and that of the China Medical Team for providing them the essential items and medical services to her orphanage. She, however, appealed for more assistance, as the orphanage is running on a rented house, and their yearly rent is 20 million Leones.
The Head of the China Medical Team, Chen YoungJun, expressed great honour in leading the team to participate in the event.
He added that malnutrition and diseases are two important factors that threaten children’s physical and mental development, and have attracted widespread attention from the International community, so serving the children of Sierra Leone is a call in the right direction.
The donation and medical screening attracted staff from China Medical Team, staff from the Chinese Embassy, and Members of the Fourth Estate.
