The Adviser on Public Expenditure Management in the Governance and Institutional Development Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat, in London has urged Sierra Leoneans living overseas to be patriotic and work towards the good of their country.
Kaifala Marah was speaking at the 10th Anniversary and Thanksgiving Service of The Organisation of Sierra Leonean Health Professionals Abroad (TOSHPA), at the Walworth Methodist Church, Camberwell Road in London, where he was honoured as Distinguished Grand Chief Patron.
“You should be proud of yourselves for achieving so much for such a long period without going your separate ways; you have stayed together all these years unlike many sister organisations we all know that have failed to stand the test of time – I feel very proud, also that you have been there and implementing a number of laudable projects for the development of our country,” he said.
TOSHPA is a London-based organisation comprises of Sierra Leonean health workers including doctors, nurses and other health practitioners, that have been providing assistance to communities in Sierra Leone with the aim of improving health and sanitation in that country.
Salone Marah, as he is fondly called, told the jam-packed hall that no government alone can develop Sierra Leone, and called on his compatriots to work together as professionals and engage in activities that will propel the nation.
“If you as Sierra Leoneans think government can do everything for you, then you might as well go to sleep, because,” Marah continued, “the development of any nation depends on the collective energy of both the government and the people, and it has never been otherwise”, he concluded.
Marah urged his compatriots to be culturally minded of where they are coming from because in his words, “only when you know where you came from, will you know where you are heading.
I say so because, soon and very soon, Sierra Leone is going to lose a new generation of better professionals if we fail to sow the seed of patriotism in our children here in the diaspora.
The focus should not only be on what we can contribute to society, but also on crafting strategies that would pave the way for our children to build on what we have started.”
He concluded by commending TOSHPA for having the compassion to help their brothers and sisters back home and encouraged them to continue their good work.
Earlier in the programme, Preacher, Professor Okrafo-Smart who is also a founding member of the organisation, appealed to other Sierra Leoneans to give their support to TOSHPA and called on other organisations to emulate the good example of the health professionals.
He gave a brief background of the organisation as a group of Sierra Leoneans who have come together with the desire to contribute towards the development of Sierra Leone in the health sector.
He informed the audience of some of TOSHPA’s activities in Sierra Leone, which include volunteer work at the PCMH and the School of Nursing in Freetown.
Also present at the ceremony as Guest of Honour was the Deputy High Commissioner, Tamba Mansa Ngebah and a psychiatric consultant Dr. Mondeh who made a brief statement on some of the good works of TOSHPA.
Members of TOSHPA were also presented to the audience.
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