By: Mohamed Sankoh
As part of their humanitarian assistance to various sectors including school donations, construction of bore-holes among others, the “Kiro Descendants Union” KDU North-East Chapter in the United States of America on Saturday 25th January 2025 provided food launch for the aged people at the “King George the 6th Memorial Home” Grafton.
However, the KDU is also a member of the “Global Union” with three states that are made up of the North-East Chapter, such as New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. the organisation has been assisting the King George home for the past five years with various donations like toiletries, provide food launch and digging of bore-hole.
According to the Assistant Social Secretary, Kiro Descendants Union North-East Chapter, Madam Joyce Tower explained that the King George the 6th Memorial Home is deprived of supports which is why them in the organisation come to feed the aged with food and to help them with affordable drinking water through the reconstruction of the collapsed bore-hole.
The Social Secretary further averts that the KDU support is not only limited to the King George home, but has provided cash support to Churches and Mosques including the donation of learning materials such as books, computers and toys to the children’s library at the Sierra Leone Library Board. She was quoted as saying “right now we have over six-hundred cases of books to be donated to schools”.
She concluded by emphasising the importance attached to give charity to the needy which according to her, their gesture is not only limited to kiro people, but cut across tribe, region or party lines, adding that there are some consignments on the way which will be donated to the King George home and other deprived communities or schools that are in need.
Receiving the food launch from the Executive and members of the Kiro Descendants Union North-East Chapter, Mrs. Ramatu Kanu, Administrator King George 6th Memorial Home said some of their challenges have been water and electricity which is not regular and as a result it is difficult to run the home.
She thanked the KDU for their kind support to the aged to provide them with food launch and to rebuild their bore-hole which was not in good working order, hence she called on other meaningful organizations to assist them on the area of electricity like solar lights as the premises of the compound is very dark especially when there is no light during the night.
The home administrator also said the Kiro Descendants Union use to visit them with different donations as this is not the first time, although there were other organizations, families and individuals who normally come to donate, she averts.
Mrs. Kanu further believes that with the construction of the bore-hole, they will soon be getting affordable drinking water which will end their suffering on the area of water supply, therefore appeal to the KDU to continue with their humanitarian support to them.
In her statement, President of the Kiro Descendants Union in Sierra Leone, Madam Waltona Cummings said despite the fact that the King George Home is well established, yet they need food and non-food items to encourage residents at the home.
She further noted that one of the challenges they identify was the issue of lack of water supply and it is against this backdrop that the construction of the bore-hole comes into effect. She thanked the KDU North-East Chapter for their support especially to ensure affordable water supply is available for all.
She emphasised the need for unity which according to her the KDU is living beyond tribe, region or community, but rather we are one people from different tribes, and that them as an organisation are aiming to ensure that the lives of the aged are improved, the president said.