According to Councillor Osman Kamara, representing Ward 349 in Constituency 097, when he took up office he decided to focus on health and water issues for his people which he realised were the two major challenges facing them, stating that when he had the opportunity to contribute in a meeting with SL Brewery he highlighted these issues which they promised to give assistance to.
He disclosed that the project should have started 2014 and completed in 2015 but due to some controversies over the land where the Health Centre should have been erected the project was stalled but with the problem being settled now the project is expected to complete in 2017.
The Councillor pleaded with the Government and the Freetown City Council to come on board and help support the project as according to the agreement, SL Brewery is only funding a flat building with three admitting wards, three delivering rooms, post natal room, drug store, nurses common room and consultation room, among others.
Speaking on behalf of SL Brewery, the Corporate Affairs Manager, Albert Oju Collier, disclosed that the total fund of the project is five hundred and fourteen Million Leones (Le 514m) with the intension of extending the Maternity wing of the Calaba Town Health Centre which is very small for the available population of forty thousand (40,000).
He disclosed that with the idea that Sierra Leone is among the countries with the highest mortality rate, they decided to complement the government’s effort in promoting the health sector with funds from Heineken Foundation which owns about 83 percent of SL Brewery, adding that Brewery will fund the present plan of the project 100 percent and the support from government and council will be on the additional wings.
Mayor Franklyn Bordi Gibson expressed thanks and appreciation to SL Brewery for their continued support to the people of Wellington and Calaba Town as part of their corporate social responsibility, urging the Councillors within Constituencies 097 and 098 to start chasing the other companies for their support as part of their own corporate social responsibilities.
He disclosed that there are no secondary health facilities in Calaba Town where operations and other serious cases can be handled without referring them to Rokupa or Cottage Hospitals, admonishing the community people to see the project as theirs and for them to contribute in their own little way to make it a success.
According to the deputy in-Charge at the Calaba Town Community Health Centre, Alfred Fomba, the present facility at the Centre is not conducive for the patients as there is only one small delivery room which makes it difficult for them to attend to three patients at the same time, but to refer other case to Rokupa Hospital for assistance.
He disclosed that the unavailability of observation room within the facility is making their work very much difficult as in most cases after delivery the woman must be in an observation room for some time before allowing her to go home, but such facility is not available.
The Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs, Hon Nuru-DeenSankohYillah, thanked SL Brewery for their support in complementing government’s agenda, adding that he will report to his boss (President Ernest Koroma) on the activities of Brewery and the help needed by the people of Calaba Town and Wellington.