By Alimatu Jalloh
The Maada and Fatima Bio Foundation has on Thursday 8th December, 2022 received five brand new jeeps from the Government and People of South Korea, through its Red Cross institution.
The presentation ceremony took place at the Office of the First Lady, and it attracted the attention of the new Korean Consul to Sierra Leone, the First Lady and members of the Foundation.
Before presenting the keys of the vehicles the First Lady, the Consul of the Republic of South Korea to Sierra Leone, Mahesh Nandwani was delighted to have executed his first assignment as a Consul.
He said the donation came upon a request being made by the Maada and Fatima Bio Foundation a couple of years ago to the Red Cross Society of Korea, in order to support the work of the Foundation.
Mr. Nandwani said the First Lady had been working very hard to support women and girls in Sierra Leone in diverse ways, and that the vehicles will be of great help to her work.
He averred that the free sanitary pad is a good initiative and that the quest of the First Lady and the Foundation in pushing for women empowerment and gender equality was also a laudable venture.
The Consul referred to the address delivered by the First Lady concerning Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) at the United Nations General Assembly as a “historical one”, wherein she advocated for November 18th every year to be set aside in reflection of issues around SGBV.
As a Consul, Nandwani wants to maintain a cordial relationship with the Government and people of Sierra Leone as a way of strengthening the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
On her part, the First Lady, Madam Fatima Bio thanked the Government and people of South Korea for such support, noting that “They have given us the life line the Foundation need.”
According to the First Lady the Foundation has been working behind the scenes, in ensuring that they meet their aim and objectives, and receiving those vehicles she said has made their work easier.
Those vehicles were approved in 2020, but due to the coronavirus pandemic and other issues, they had been stocked in Ghana.
Madam Bio promised that the Foundation will use the vehicles for it intended purpose, in ensuring that they reach every corner that matters.