A community-based organisation – Youth in Action for Development –on Saturday 16 January formally inaugurated the Konjo Community Market and the Social Mobilization Centre in Ngiehun Konjo town, Konjo Buima Section, Malegohun Chiefdom, Kenema District. YAD has been involved in post-conflict development strides in the community for many years.
They constructed and equipped a two-storey building which has a market on the ground floor and a community mobilisation hall on the top floor. They also handed over a two-bedroom-and-a-parlour guest house to the community.
The ceremony attracted high-level representatives of central and local leaders from across the region including the resident minister, the provincial secretary, the district council chairman and the deputy mayor of Kenema.
Also present were the Town Chief of Kenema, Alhaji Kenei Momoh Ngombulango, Paramount Chief Madam Salay Satta Gendemeh and Aminata Sheriff who is the Regional Coordinator of NaCSA.
PC Gendemeh welcomed the guests and thanked them for their participation at this memorable occasion in her chiefdom. She also thanked the staff and management of YAD (Youth in Action for Development) and the donor partners abroad who funded “such an innovative project for the benefit of the Malegohun community”.
Giving an overview of the project and its overarching goal, the Programme Coordinator, Othman Sheriff said it was co-funded by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) of the Federal Republic of Germany, Fambul Tik e.V, YAD and the Konjo Buima community. He said the main objectives were to trigger socioeconomic development for women, foster unity, cohesion and peaceful coexistence mong the youth, so as to solidify peace, democracy and good governance in Malegohun Chiefdom in general and Konjo Buima community in particular.
Sheriff said they had constructed and equipped a two-storey building with a market centre located on the ground floor, a community mobilisation hall located on the top floor, a two-bedroom-and-a-parlour guest house, seven squat-holes of toilets, cell-phone charging station, 15 KW solar system, a robust musical set, solar powered water well, and a series of capacity building training programs for project beneficiaries. The project also created a youth organisation called Konjo Youth Development Association (KYDA) who assumed custodianship of the facility to ensure community ownership and future sustainability.
The Chairman of the Kenema District Council, Mohamed O’ Level Sesay expressed his profound gratitude and appreciation to the staff and management of YAD and the donor partners who co-funded the project which was implemented.
“In order to prove to everyone how appreciative and delighted I am today”, Mr Sesay went further, “I hereby award a Certificate of Meritorious Service to the staff and management of YAD in recognition of their development initiatives in Kenema district in general and especially for the construction of the Konjo Community Market and Social Mobilization Centre in Ngiehun Konjo Town, Konjo Buima Section, Malegohun Chiefdom”, he said.
He went on: “The leadership of the Kenema District Council wishes to encourage the staff and management of YAD to continue the good work in other parts of the region,” he encouraged.
The NaCSA Regional Coordinator, Madam Aminata Sheriff stated that YAD’s mode of intervention in the region was perfectly in line with the government’s strategic development framework and therefore requested all and sundry to support them openhandedly. She welcomed YAD to always consult her office with any queries regarding development in the region as she would be always ready to offer them any support they might need. Mrs Sheriff also pleaded to the project beneficiaries to utilise the facilities for the intended purpose.
Offering a keynote address before cutting the ribbon on behalf of the central government, the Resident Minister – East, Hon. Andrew Ansu Fatorma, profoundly thanked YAD, donor partners and Konjo Buma community for their efforts in fighting poverty in the region, adding that the project was in firm conformity to and in solid support of President Julius Maada Bio’s New Direction agenda.
The minister implored the local authorities and the young people to handle the facility appropriately and use it for the intended purposes so as to ensure long-term sustainability. He encouraged the youth to use the facility to promote peace instead of vengeance and lawlessness. He also cautioned the local authorities not to transform the facility into a Court Barry where they might impose unbearable fines on the youth until they feel expelled from their own community.
“By the power invested in me by His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio, I hereby cut the ribbons and declare the Konjo Community Market and Social Mobilization Centre formally open for community use” Hon. Fatorma concluded.
The occasion was chaired by the Provincial Secretary – east, Andrew J. Fofanah. It ended with a vote of thanks by Mr Yayah Kajue, the Ward Councillor who is also the Deputy Chairman of the Kenema District Council.
Copyright (c) 2021 Politico Online
