Medics lift lives of kids in Sierra Leone

As part of its support for improving health and education in Sierra Leone, a medical team from Jiangsu has donated $10,000 to the Alice Koroma Preparatory School.

The presentation took place at the school in Allen Town, in the eastern part of the capital, Freetown, on Nov 19.

A team of medical practitioners, led by Dr Jiang, had earlier traveled to Sierra Leone to assist in the fight against the Ebola virus that claimed the lives of more than 4,000 people, including some medics.

Jiang was also among the four doctors from Jiangsu province who recently traveled to Sierra Leone to carry out surgery on people with cataracts as part of President Xi Jinping's plan to help the African continent.

Madam Ngardie Turay, the head of the school, learned about Jiangsu province and its support for orphans and underprivileged children in Sierra Leone through Awoko, one of the leading newspapers in the country.

"I was able to contact the doctors and request assistance for my school. They promised to help but did not give a specific time or say the type of support they would provide," she says.

When the Jiangsu team visited the school in 2015 to meet the orphans, she was impressed because the children were given the opportunity to recount their experiences and make their pleas directly to the doctors.

"I will use this money appropriately to improve the learning standards and conditions of the children, who are rarely in need of learning materials," she says.

She praises the support provided by the Chinese government in the areas of education, health and infrastructure, pointing out that the current extension of the main highway linking Freetown with other towns is being done by a Chinese company.

Turay tearfully explains that most of the orphans in her school lost their parents during the Ebola outbreak and have no one to look after them. She can only accommodate a handful of them and there are many more looking for education to give them a brighter future.

She thanks the Jiangsu provincial government through Dr Jiang and Sister Jin, who accompanied him. She says the donation was a welcome step towards ensuring the children achieve their dreams

Making the donation on behalf of the medical team, Jiang recognized it was not large but it was what the team could afford.

He says: "We are aware of the fact that this money is not enough, but we hope that it will help in completing the school structure and also provide a conducive learning environment for the children."

Jiang says China is always ready to help the African people as true friends. He says the donation is part of continuous educational support from Jiangsu province to the people of Sierra Leone.

Jiang urges the children to focus on their studies as they are the leaders of tomorrow who will take up the mantle from their elders.

In appreciation of the gift, the students performed some traditional songs, happy in the knowledge that in the next six months they will be occupying a decent school building with adequate learning materials.

For China Daily

(China Daily Africa Weekly 11/25/2016 page3)