By Prince J Musa in Kenema
The Ministry of Social Welfare in collaboration with Post Ebola Recovery Social Investment Fund (PERSIF) has on the 22nd July 2021 ended a two- day training for social workers on awareness raising in communities that were badly affected by the 2014 Ebola epidemic in Kenema.
According to the project coordinator of PERSIF, Ibrahim S. Kamara the government and its development partners are implementing it, based on experiences that was put together during the Ebola scourge in the Mano-River Union member countries that were badly affected by the Ebola virus.
He said the essence of training the social workers was to deploy them in communities that were mostly hit by the virus so that they can continue to give key awareness messages about Ebola and be better placed in the country in case of a resurgence.
“We should not be complacent that Ebola will not surface again and forget all the precautionary measures”, said the project coordinator.
The training also captured councilors of local councils so they will help to sensitize their people on the effects of Ebola.
He encouraged the social workers to pass on the knowledge they have acquired from the training to their communities’ whiles calling on the communities to embrace the social workers and share vital information that will help each other.
The Director in the Ministry of Social Welfare, Francis Kambia said the training is a normal practice by the ministry before sending personnel into communities to address welfare- related issues.
Kambia stated that, there are emerging issues that need the Ministry’s intervention such as sexual penetration, gender based violence and harmful traditional practices.
Those issues highlighted he said can only be addressed or prevented by trained and qualified social workers.
Councilor Abibatu Farma of Kenema City Council thanked the ministry for the initiative to address the social problems in the rural and urban communities especially in the face of teenage pregnancy.
She assured the support of the local council in efforts at tackling gender based violence and sexual abuse.
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