By Mabinty M. Kamara
A month since the August 2nd flooding that wreaked havoc in part of Freetown, one of the victims remain in a hospital bed in need of urgent medical attention.
Ramatu Kamara, 22, was hit by a falling fence which left her severely injured. Doctors at the Connaught hospital, where she has been admitted, said she can only survive her condition with a surgery overseas and the nearest facility is in Ghana.
The flooding which resulted from a heavy down pour claimed seven lives, according to the Office National Security. About half a dozen communities were affected directly.
The incident with Ramatu happened at Thunder Hill in Kissy, where part of a fence in a compounding neighboring theirs fell on her.
The fence is part of the residence of the Catholic Arch Bishop of Freetown.
According to medical reports, Ramatu sustained both internal and external injuries. It left her virtually paralised, and she can barely move even her arms.
Ramatu is a first year student at the Institute of Advance Management and Technology (IAMTEC) and a member of the National Union of Muslim Students (NUMS), an organization that has been championing a fund raising drive for her treatment in Ghana.
According to Mr. Brima Kamara, father of Ramatu, they have already spent over Le7million on medications.
The family needs US$35,000, which is equivalent to about Le35m, which they say they can’t afford. Mr Kamara said he has made several moves to seek funding from the government which has promised to act on it.
“I have been to the Minister of Health and the Chief Medical Officer, and even the Mayor visited us at the hospital, but we are still waiting to hear from them,” he said.
Tejan Ishak Kamara, president of NUMS, told Politico that Ramatu’s current situation needs urgent attention in order for her to get the desired advanced treatment abroad as her Spinal cord is severely injured, citing the medical report.
“This is a trying time for our nation as the current situation of Ramatu is a national issue which is a result of the August 2 mayhem that befell the nation. If Ramatu is still alive, we crave urgent attention of the state to save her life as we don’t want any unfortunate situation to happen while sourcing funds,” he said.
Tejan called on government and other humanitarian organizations to act fast in order to save a daughter whose condition continues to deteriorate daily. He said as a way of getting the government involved in taking care of Ramatu’s welfare, the organization has written letters of assistance to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Ministry of Social Welfare, Office of the First Lady, Office of the National Security and the Freetown City Council.
Some friends and family members of the victim were initially unhappy with the lack of cooperation from Archbishop of Freetown, whose fence fell on her.
Arch Bishop Edward Tamba Charles told Politico that he was on vacation when the incident occurred. But he noted that his secretary immediately supported the family with food stuff and later the sum of Le1.5million. And upon his return, the bishop added, he visited the victim at the hospital. He said he has gone beyond that, by seeking for help on her behalf.
“I have been to the president of this country on the issue and he was surprised to hear about it for the first time. But he expressed interest and asked for the medical report to be sent to the Secretary to the President and I have received an acknowledgement of receipt of the report and promising to take immediate action,” he said.
The bishop added that had the doctors not advised otherwise, he would have taken Ramatu for treatment in any of the catholic run hospitals.
© 2019 Politico Online
