The Chief Executive Officer and founder of the Love One Another Campaign (LOAC), Dr. Christian Bell on Thursday 13th June 2023 told members of the Sierra Leone Albinism Foundation (SLAF) that they would be absorbed into the organisation reiterating that all human beings are equal and that a lot of advocacy and awareness have now been created on albinism in the country.
He made the statement to commemorate International Albinism Awareness Day at the Millennium Hall, Circular Road in Freetown on the theme ‘A Decade of Collective Progress.’
According to Dr. Bell, people with albinism in Sierra Leone are discriminated and marginalized. He emphasized that love is a command from God and appealed to Sierra Leoneans to help people with albinism without conditions, noting that all human beings have skin conditions, observed that albinism is caused by the absence of the pigment that should protect the skin and reiterated the need to protect people with albinism.
Dr. Bell went on to articulate that love is the essence of God’s creation, that what a wonderful world it would be if all mankind loved one another, noted that peace cannot be obtained from the outside, that if there should be peace in the world it should start from oneself, that whatsoever one does to the least of his/her brethren it is done for Jesus Christ, pointed out that life without love is meaningless and that true love is free from attachments.
The National Director and founder of LOAC also underscored the importance of love, that the tragedy in Sierra Leone is that it is rich in natural resources but that only a few greedy and corrupt politicians enjoy her wealth.
He articulated that lasting peace in Sierra Leone depends on the commitment of the people to love one another, that LOAC had trained Love Ambassadors to disseminate love messages nationwide, and acknowledged the need to infuse the love message into our leaders to love the people. He also affirmed that corruption and exploitation of the people are due to the absence of love and maintained that exploitation is a cancer in the country as there is more than enough resources for all citizens.
Dr. Bell also informed people with albinism about the origin, vision, mission statement, aims and objectives and activities of LOAC and further submitted that love is unconditional, stressed that we must be judicious and give a helping hand to the poor, that mankind must use the resources on earth in accordance with God’s wishes stressing that the true worship of God is when one addresses the concerns of the less-privileged, that love is the motive of Christianity and that if we cannot love ourselves we cannot love God.
In his keynote address, Mr. Abdul Fatoma, the Executive Director of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy International asserted that life is still a challenge for people with albinism as they face discrimination, marginalization and violence with misconceptions about them and called for urgent reforms stressing that they were all human beings and therefore a lot more needed to be done for them to have equal rights and opportunities.
Mr. Abdul Fatoma went on to state that people must unite to compel society to honour the rights of people with albinism without stigma or discrimination and to have access to proper healthcare and education among others.
Some of the challenges highlighted by people with albinism are lack of employment opportunities, discrimination and marginalization, the lack of a dermatologist in the country, poor eyesight and the non-availability of large print text books for children with albinism.
He added that LOAC has created impact in various communities nationwide with the construction of schools, orphanages and vocational centres as well as the award of scholarships to the poor.
Highlights of the well-attended event were a panel discussion on the topic, ‘Has Things Become Better for People With Albinism in Sierra Leone?’, launch of the SLAF website, musical performances and distribution of LOAC campaign materials while the vote of thanks was rendered by Jeneba Sesay, the Public Relations Officer of SLAF.