Sharing joy at Christmas
Christmas is about love. It is about joy, giving and sharing. In a time of loneliness and hardship, when most people could barely afford a square meal for their children, World Vision Senior Operations Manager Saffa Andrew Koroma brought light and smiles to many hearts in Makeni, northern Sierra Leone.
Saffa had finished thrilling a hall parked with medical practitioners on World Vision's support to the Ministry of Health's fight against malaria when he took to the streets to share the joy of Christmas. According to WHO, African Regions bear a disproportionate share of the global malaria burden. Sierra Leone contributes to 2% of the malaria cases in Africa, 1.4% of the global malaria cases, and 1.4% to the global malaria deaths. The disease is endemic throughout the country with a stable and year-round transmission affecting all age groups. Women and children under five are the most vulnerable and it is currently the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children under five. (WHO Sierra Leone 2022 Annual Report).
Saffa's first stop was the City Garden Clinic a private clinic which provides medical care with special interest for people who cannot afford to pay for their medication. The clinic’s owner Dr. Abdulai Daniel Sesay is a philanthropic surgeon whose clinic has performed more than 250 free hernia surgeries for people who cannot afford them. The clinic performs 25 free operations on the most vulnerable every year. Explaining his ordeal, Dr Sesay says his clinic does not receive any government subvention because it's privately owned and therefore the operation of the hospital is financed by himself and other charitable friends in the diaspora who often get together and buy equipment and donate to the hospital. He added that the clinic has survived by God’s providence and that is why their motto is “God heals, we care”.
The clinic provides a space for medical students to train. “As I keep telling my friends let's do the little, we can in our little corner, if each of us can do our best in our little corner when it is all quantified together, we would have made a significant change in the country. We need money to run our clinic but we put humanity first, saving a life is the most important thing, that is why we do what we do even if people cannot afford it. We cannot depend on the government to provide everything for its people, they can only provide the enabling environment but the people must have the will to work together and effect changes wherever they are”. Dr Sesay says life can only be better when others are considered, "If you want to succeed in life, you must not think only of yourself, how can you be happy if those around you are not happy? If everyone around me is not happy, do you think I will be happy? NO! Then if we all come together, we can all enjoy happiness together, leaving no one behind, that is why I have so much joy in training young people who want to work in the medical field to save lives". After a short chat, Saffa was taken on a guided tour of the children's ward, where he shared a meal with children being treated for various illnesses, including malaria.
Determined to spread World Vision's message of hope, joy and love, Saffa met with young people being rehabilitated from drug abuse by Pastor Magrette Sesay. Several young people have recently died after using a local narcotic called kush. The drug is popular among young people despite its deadly effects. According to 18-year-old Amadu, the drug has affected his self-esteem and hygiene, he wants to go back to school and clean up his act. he sees the addiction as demonic: "Even though we have seen others dying from the use of these drugs, we still cannot stop taking them. I was a very brave student and my parents loved me very much, but from the first day I tasted Kush through a friend, I left home and started living on the streets, to this day I don't know why. I have tried to go back home many times but I just find myself coming back. But I thank God for Pastor Magrette since she met me, she has been counselling us and praying for us and I have stopped taking the drugs, what I need now is help to go back to school because my parents can no longer afford it. Mr Saffa, I feel good listening to you and knowing that there are people who still love and care for us, I can't remember the last time I had a soft drink (soda), this gesture is amazing," he said. Over 30 of them gathered and listened to Saffa's advice on the dangers of drug abuse, and they all received a parcel of food and drink and were wished a Merry Christmas.
As the sun set and dusk approached, Saffa made a final stop at the Magbenteh Community Hospital. The hospital is a Christian hospital supported by the Swiss Sierra Leone Development Foundation. It provides free medical care to children under the age of five. In the children's ward, Saffa distributed food parcels to the children who had been admitted and to the nursing staff on duty. On behalf of the management and staff of World Vision Sierra Leone, he sends warm wishes to everyone he met for a joyful and memorable holiday filled with laughter and good times with Christ at the centre.
As an organisation, our vision is for every child to enjoy life in all its fullness, and our prayer for every heart is the will to make it so.