By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
Youths in Kissy Dockyard have rallied themselves and vowed to take up the challenge of sensitizing their communities on COVID-19. On Saturday, the advocacy group Dockyard Youths Concerned (DYC) trained up to 50 young people on messages on the pandemic.
Some 38 youths from different backgrounds were trained at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Secondary School, Kissy Dockyard. Following the training, the trainees broke up into several small groups on Sunday to conduct door to door sensitization.
During the training on Saturday, Secretary General of DYC, Tejan Kamara, said youths must recognize the influence they have on the society and use that to campaign against the virus.
“Youths can spread the message faster, that is why we must take charge of this fight. The little input we are making goes a long way,” he said.
Speaking on the composition of the trainees, Kamara said: “We have all shades of the society represented here. As the theme goes, the responsibility to end Corona rests with all of us.”
Chairman of DYC, Mohamed Tholley, said: “Community development is everyone’s business,” adding: “without youths we won’t be able to go forward in the fight against COVID-19.”
The Member of Parliament representing the area, Wurror Timbo Jalloh, said during the program that he was proud of the initiative the youths have introduced.
He said a similar idea has already been picked up in several other areas within the constituency and outside.
“Let us take this seriously, COVID-19 is real. The messaging has been so confusing that some of our people are even denying whether there is Corona in Sierra Leone. As youths, you should take charge and get to your communities and tell people that the virus is real,” he said.
The training included talks from health officials, community and religious leaders.
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