May 31, 2021
By Ilyasa Baa
At a colorful commemoration of the Africa Liberation Day (ALD) on May 25, held at the Court Barray, Mountain Cut in Freetown, the Deputy Clerk(DC) in charge of Legislations who doubles as the Board Chairman of Ripsta Culture Foundation, seized the opportunity to call on the youths of Sierra Leone to step up their efforts and build on their capacity.
Mr. Cyril King admonished that young people should not be too dependent on politicians noting the government does not have all the resources to take care of every youth in the country.
He said young people should engage themselves in things that uplift and liberate them from poverty instead of hooliganism and drug abuse. He pointed out that the human capital development drive of the government largely embraces the youths but expressed his dissatisfaction over the negative activities of some youths saying they should wise up and not allow them to be fooled for drugs and pegapak.
Ripsta Culture’s Adviser, Suntus Kamara expressed the need for the youths to uphold Pan-Africanism which he said is the way for the liberation of the African continent from the West. He commended the effort of the founder of Ripsta,Sorie Obai Kamara alias Obi-Phrase as the only Sierra Leonean in the diaspora who supported his countrymen morally and financially to organize a ceremony marking the occasion of the Africa Liberation Day.
According to the National Coordinator, Mirian Slyvia Johnson they are supportive of government’s human capital development especially in the area of education. She said they set up the Kiilan Kuolu Primary School in Newton for Ebola orphans in the Mabrown community which was one of the hardest hit communities in the country.
Founder of Ripsta Culture, Obi-Phrase who doubles as the Music Ambassador to Europe, said Africans should be united and must help one another especially when the need arises. He said his foundation would continue to give assistance to musicians, youths and children in Sierra Leone.
He noted that under his auspices, the Sierra Leone Unite office has been opened in Finland to liberate the minds of young people in the country. He said through that office, a lot of goodies will reach the country.