He made this statement on his visit to support flood victims with bags of rice and bundles of clothing at the Largo and Foindu towns, where he assured the people of continual support.
Bio brought smiles to the faces of over 300 flood victims as he donated 115 bags of rice and clothing items to people severely affected by floods in Largo, Constituency 012 and Foindu, Constituency 013, in Kenema District.
The donation which took place on Friday 21st July 2017 gave Brigadier (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio the opportunity to see the devastation caused by the floods and to listen to the harrowing accounts from the flood victims many of whom lost everything they had. For the grassroots politician, such a donation reinforced his conviction that we can only build a better society if we care for one another.
In two separate presentation ceremonies in the affected communities, Bio told the flood victims, chiefdom authorities and Party stakeholders that the purpose of his visit was to sympathise with the victims following the devastating floods that destroyed their houses on 21st June 2017. The caring and compassionate Bio told the victims that he shared their pain and thought it fit to donate food and clothing to them at this difficult time.
As a politician who also enjoys mammoth support from the people in the affected areas, Bio thanked them for their unwavering commitment, dedication and support to his Presidential aspiration. Bio also expressed his gratitude to the people for their steadfastness in electing sectional and constituency executives who believe in him and the SLPP during the recent lower level elections.
Using his experience in governance and the many challenges faced by flood victims in recent times, Bio also promised that if he becomes the next President he will revisit and strengthen national mechanisms for disaster prevention, relief and emergency response for victims affected by disasters. He also lamented about the poor state of the roads in Kenema despite the trumpeted infrastructural development
During the donation ceremony 45 bags of rice and clothing items were donated to flood victims in Largo, Constituency 12, where 46 houses were destroyed while 70 bags of rice and clothing items were donated to victims in Foindu, Constituency 13 where 75 houses were by destroyed the flood.
The two presentation ceremonies were chaired by the SLPP Kenema District Chairman, Moriba Koroma who told the people that Bio will be a caring President and that the donation is indicative of the fact that Bio can do more when he becomes President in March 2018. Many other speeches were made by local authorities and senior party stakeholders all of whom extolled the caring leadership quality of Bio. Large crowds of people also witnessed the ceremonies including the flood victims who sang songs and chanted slogans of a man they described as their “redeemer who will become President and transform the lives of common people”.
The entourage of Brigadier (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio included the SLPP Bo District Chairman, Alhaji Kanja Sesay, former SLPP Secretary General, JJ Saffa, Deputy SLPP Eastern Region Chairman, Andrew Fatorma, Constituency 12 Chairman, Ibrahim Mazola, Constituency 13 Chairman, Frank Fatorma among others.
