May 27, 2021
By: Mohamed Abu Conteh
Residents of the Docorty Community in the east end of Freetown are currently steeped in fear and distress over the possibility of losing the only available community field in the area.
Without concerted efforts by the stakeholders of Docorty to resist the individualistic land grabbing act, the entire community is on the verge of losing the only existing community field.
According to reports an individual named Karim forcefully destroyed the goalposts and further built a temporary fence within the field.
The action by Karim has deprived the youths in the community from engaging in recreational and sporting activities.
Apart from playing host to leisure activities such as musical shows, the community field normally serves the public in that part of Freetown in different capacities, as Muslims could utilize the field for congregational Eid prayers.
Docorty Community is densely populated with over four thousand (4000) inhabitants and the community field has been utilized by indigenes for several decades as and when the need arises.
Dauda Jalloh, the Vice Chairman of the Docorty Veterans Development Organization (DVDO) confirmed to this medium that this is the third time such an unforeseen and unjustified incident has occurred in the community which has become a constant source of worry to them as elders in the community.
Mr Jalloh expressed dissatisfaction over the incident and called on the attention of the Ministry Of Sports, Ministry Of Lands, National Sports Authority and the Office of the Sports Ambassador to immediately come to their aid and salvage the ugly situation.
Mr. Abubakarr Sesay popularly called Sixties who is also a member of DVDO mentioned that majority of the young boys and girls from different schools in and around the community use the field to organizing their training sessions as part of their different schools activities.
He ended by revealing that since the establishment of the Docorty community field and recreation ground, drug abuse and the perpetration of violence by youths in the community has drastically reduced.