History

Lungi History - 2014 to 2016

 Lungi Life and our achievements during this period


LUNGI LIFE - Aug ’16  

Lungi Life continues and the rainy season is in full swing with a deluge of appalling weather! 
Undaunted, Lungi Lodge Pre-School has had it’s first Graduation Party on the 17th July – great fun with a parade and live music to celebrate our pre-schoolers moving up to the DC Primary School. Photos are shown here of the little ones ‘doing their thing’ – we’ve come a long way together.
Martin Koroma becomes headmaster of the DC Primary School in Lungi as Mrs Zaragon retires. 
We have worked with Mrs Zaragon for the past few years in which time the School has been transformed. She has worked tirelessly and is to be commended for what she has achieved. 
Martin in his position as head teacher has worked hard year on year to get the primary school children through their exams to senior school – he does a marvellous job and we must congratulate him on his new position. It is well deserved!
Musa’s house renovation is almost complete using the remaining funds donated purely for his family’s support – this little house and the land around it are his legacy to his four children – Mohammed, Uli, Billy and little Richard. Musa was our ‘main man’ in Lungi until he died during the Ebola crisis – he will always be missed.  
The Motorbike Ambulance Service carried 39 patients to hospital in July despite the terrible weather and incessant rain, and we have received a lovely message from Dr Sesay at Mahera Hospital :-
“Good Evening and Greetings from Bai Bureh Memorial Community Hospital, Mahera Lungi. 
I would like to express my thanks and appreciation on the good work you have done for the Lungi Community, the Bikes are doing a good job and the are well appreciated in the community and beyond. Our hospital benefited so much from them. The incident of late arrival of emergency cases has reduce. 
Thanks so Much May God Bless you and your sponsor.
Good Night,
Dr. Sesay “
A Diagnostic Laboratory is our Charity’s latest goal, and we hope to have equipment in Lungi in the New Year to include an X-ray machine, scanners, centrifuge … The project is in the assessment stage and full details will be available very soon. One thing is certain, and that is that your help in fundraising will be vital to ensure the smooth running of the project! 
Onwards and upwards until the next update!

CHARITY AWARD given to Lungi
May ’16
Melanie and Richard were presented with the 'Best Friend of Sierra Leone' Charity Award by H E Eddie Turay, High Commissioner of Sierra Leone, on Saturday 28th May 2016 in London, hosted by the All Works of Life organisation in recognition of the achievements of the Lungi Sierra Leone Charity in community development and innovative solutions.

A glittering event was staged with some 500 guests from the London Sierra Leone community.
Live performances were enjoyed and inspiring speeches made.
A big thank you to the organisers for such a lovely evening.

We are delighted to have been considered and to have received this award, and we in turn must thank those who have helped make it all possible - the late Musa Conteh, Samuel Williams, Romeo Kamara and all of our sponsors and supporters.

A very big Thank You indeed.

Ambulances, Computers, Washstation, Schools, Health-May'16

It’s very hot and Richard and Melanie are back in Lungi at the beginning of May.
With lots of enthusiasm we have much to do – it’s always busy in Lungi!
MOTORBIKE AMBULANCES : Our Charity began this service just 3 months ago to provide free transport to hospitals to reduce the maternal mortality rate and it’s doing fantastically well.
All patients are welcome to use the Service and it is proving highly effective.
In daily use, the riders and bikes are immaculate. The workload may be 5 call outs or just 1 or 2 per day – you just don’t know – and Mohammed and Abubakaar, our riders, are very proud of their position in the Community. It shows! The bikes are fully checked over every two days by Sammy, and it is astonishing and brilliant to see how far news of our operation has spread, even to Freetown! This service really does save lives. Opposite is a shot of the Ambulance posters that we have advertising this service in the Lungi area.
COMPUTERS have gone live. The ‘Lodge Café’, run by Community Chief Romeo Kamara, computer engineer Sammy Williams, and head teacher Martin Koroma,  
should be a great success providing literacy and access to computer development for the senior classes at our Primary School in the evenings. Electricity is now available for two hours every evening and haphazardly on some afternoons – it’s all happening at last! We have a dedicated computer room, dust free, fan for comfort, glass windows and metal door. Organised!
THE WASHATATION next to the well it is also tiled and painted blue, and it’s really great to see the children using it without being told. All children must wash their hands as they enter the school site, in addition to normal use, to continue and maintain the sanitation progress
The BOOBY RUN was hilarious! Over a period of several days bras of all shapes and sizes, two huge bags in fact, of every colour imaginable, were distributed throughout the female population to a lot of laughter and with complete inhibition. Very, very funny! Thanks June for all those donations and please keep them coming!
SCHOOLS - REPAINTING EXTERIOR and more ELECTRICS  Having successfully completed the repainting of classrooms on our previous visits, its time to give the exterior of all school buildings a facelift, and after
4 days of seriously hard work the schools look great! Well done to our painters for it’s not easy painting schools around 600 children!
Another 3 classrooms are also updated with electricity and can now be used for evening classes much to the teacher’s delight.
MYENIE - PROSTHETICS : Our 4 year old with a prosthetic leg is now playing football and is the star of the show! A lovely little girl whom we are so very happy to have been able to help.
FUNDING EDUCATION :   15 orphans have their schooling funded by our Charity. Manou and Kadiatou, one of the sets of twins are pictured here along with the rest of the group
Ishmail Kamara, whose education we have also fund is doing well at senior 
school and will soon move through to college. He would like to study accountancy and computing and his results are good enough to allow him to do so which is great. Mohammed White is also being supported at senior school for the next year.
HEALTH MATTERS : Michael Scott, one of our English teachers, has also received our support for two operations on his eyes to save his sight. Michael is 78 years old and going strong and we are pleased to report that the operations have been successful.
Alpha Kanu, another of our English teachers with the best handwritten script I have ever seen, is to have an operation on his neck courtesy of our Charity.
EMMA KAMARA - unfortunately she will not be unable to have an operation to correct her legs at this time. Despite extensive investigation by Dr Wolfgang through Munich University, the prognosis is not good, the deformity being too severe and too risky. Our thanks go to those who have tried to help her.

That’s it for this trip but a huge thanks goes out to all of our supporters at this time. Without you we would not be able to do what we do. Thank you!

Ambulance Arrival at Lungi- Nov '15

On the 10th Nov 2015 Melanie embarked on an 18 day trip to Sierra Leone, the first visit for 17 months. There was a quietness and it was odd for Musa not to be there, but, with Sammy, Romeo and our school teachers safe and well it wasn’t long before projects were underway – there was much to be done! Although the country was now Ebola free, cautionary measures were still in place for everyone’s safety with many, many daily checks.
The trip revolved primarily around the arrival of our MOTORBIKE AMBULANCES from South Africa, troubleshooting, and facilitating port clearance. Dr Sesay is delighted that we will link with his free medical services for pregnant women, for this will make a tremendous difference to the maternal mortality rate and medical cases where speed of treatment is crucial. There is a stigma of the Ebola ambulances and the villagers simply won’t use them, however, the Service is not only for matters connected with pregnancy and we will cover as many emergencies as we can. We should serve around 50,000 people. Our services are completely free and will commence in January and we must really thank the High Commissioner in London and the Ministers I saw in Freetown who were most helpful.
I have built a garage within a walled compound to keep the ambulances secure, the riders are in place, and the area we propose to cover is well researched.
Our shipping agents delayed eight days in obtaining port clearance, and it took me a further three, criss-crossing Freetown and port side, to obtain the required stamps before we were clear.
There are so many stories to tell of this adventure, not least when the truck carrying the ambulances got stuck by it’s rear axle on the ferry when disembarking, which then put back out to sea with us still attached! Luckily we dropped clear before the water became too deep. By the time we reached Tintafore that night it was well past midnight, but still twelve men of the village turned out to lift the bikes off the lorry! I rode ‘home’ to Yurika that night by the light of a huge full moon, exhausted and euphoric, to find everyone waiting up for me - a lovely surprise to end a happy successful day!
The schools are doing well and classrooms have been repaired and repainted. Roofing and ceilings have had major renovation, floors are re concreted, and much furniture assembled and installed – we had a container arrive courtesy of Westminster International in the Spring so it was all hands on deck for the sort out! The new School Year starts early in January and our schools continue to grow and prosper. 
Electricity is now installed in the Lungi Lodge Pre-School and we are ready to start those computer lessons we had planned a year ago. It’s going to be a busy New Year! We plan to have IT classes running for several hours each evening to teach the 10 and 11 year olds.
In October Myenie received her second prosthetic leg, as she is growing quickly, and I am so delighted with her progress. She walks confidently and is such a bright and bonny little person. 
In June 2014 I was introduced to a young girl of 12 years, Emma Kamara, who has a very rare condition that has badly affected her legs. At the time I did not see how we could help her, but, there just happened to be a German Orthopaedic Surgeon in the country and so we made a trip upcountry to see him in Lunsar for advice. After X-rays and lots of photographs of those knees we returned to Tintafore, at least now with the hope that something may be done to help her. She is 13 years old and it is the first time I have seen her smile. 
Richard and I will be travelling back to Lungi to monitor our progress in January and will keep you updated.
Can’t wait for the next visit!

AMBULANCE SERVICE - NOV '15

EBOLA FREE  Nov 7th!
Sierra Leone has been given the ”all clear” this morning,November 7th.
Thank goodness this awful episode is over and the country can at last celebrate and look forward to health and happiness. We will remember with great sadness all those who have been lost. 
Our Charity has been keeping busy and we are delighted to announce our latest project, the 

MOTORBIKE AMBULANCE SERVICE Starting up in NOVEMBER
We are about to start an ambulance service, predominantly for maternal welfare, accidents and emergencies, in the rural districts nearby where vehicles have difficult access. The Service will be completely free, and patients will be taken to the Lungi Hospital 
 or treated by the local Peripheral Health Nurses ( PHU). In so many medical cases speed of treatment is crucial, and 
we are hoping that with the arrival of our Motorbike Ambulances from South Africa next week, we will be able to save lives.
Sierra Leone has one of the highest mortality rates in the world and we feel that the introduction of eRanger Motorcycle Ambulances would have a positive impact and be greatly valued by the Community
They are specifically designed to carry patients in a sidecar and would be used as part of a quick reliable service transporting patients to and from local health centers, operating as part of the existing health system. 
The motorbikes used are Jialing JH125 which have impressive off-road and on-road capability, the suspension considerably smoothing the ride over rough ground. The stretcher itself has multiple functions, offering a flat bed protected by an all weather cover as well as converting into a suspended chair suitable for the walking wounded, sick and expectant mothers.
A versatile, complete and effective solution for rural healthcare delivery, we hope it will be a great success

Thank you Shaun and Jenny for your tremendous contribution in making this happen. There will be lots of progress reports as the startup gets underway so watch this space! It’s going to be exciting!

Rebuilding “That Bridge” 2015

The Mappeh Bridge is repaired with iron plate welded to the steel structure- it is finally safe to cross and the villagers are ecstatic!
THE MAPPEH BRIDGE - ITS FIXED! 
This bridge has caused so many injuries and affects so many people - it is the most important bridge in the Kaffou, Bollom, and Lokomasama chiefdoms being the shortest crossing point between each. The bridge leads to the villages of Yurika, Robenk and Bailor, each with a population of 2000, 3000, and 8000 inhabitants respectively.
The old ladies are dancing and we, and all those who support us, have been soundly blessed for making it safe.
A BIG thank you also to those pictured here who worked so hard in the heat of the day, welding it all together.
Until now, the bridge has been in a dismal state of repair with rotten and missing planking, causing many people to fall through and injure themselves, including ourselves.

Here is a report from Sammy Williams who oversaw the project:
"We had finished to rebuild the Mappeh Yurika bridge. A old woman was dancing and blessed each and everyone who contributed to the rebuilding of the bridge. A bike man crosses the bridge and stopped at the other end, he walked back towards us and ask, am I dreaming, is this the Mappeh bridge? They even invite me to the local radio station to explain about this bridge. This bridge had broken so many legs and foot, the people are so happy, the village people bless everyday you and everyone who contributed to the repairing of this bridge. Thanks to you an everyone who help us to finish this project"

And thank you from us too for making this possible!!

Annual Report April 2015

The last year has been one of tremendous contrasts, of growth and prosperity, tragedy and loss.
The first six months of 2014 saw much accomplished, with our projects coming to fruition:
The Lungi-Lodge Pre-School was fully furnished and equipped to compliment the Primary School; We secured outstanding pay owed by the government for three of our new teachers (up to six years was owed); 30 children were funded to sit their exams for entry into High School; Teachers from our supporting schools in the UK came with us to Sierra Leone to give help, and guidance; and Ishmail continues with his studies at High School funded by the Charity.
Computers to implement the teaching of IT to the 11 year olds in our School are in place and lessons will commence shortly.
Prosthetics have enabled Myenie, 3, to walk and run and she continues to do well. Mandoba will receive a prosthetic hand shortly.
The Well was deepened and underwent extensive maintenance. 
Ebola arrived in June 2014 with devastating consequences.
Food parcels and support have been given whenever possible to help those in greatest need and all projects were put on hold.
Musa, our ‘Man in Africa’ died in January as a direct result of the Ebola lockdown. Fundraising,  to keep his family together,
educated and safe, has raised approx. £800, and so far one year’s rent has been paid along with food provision and school fees for his children. His wife Fatmata will be helped to start a small business to help sustain them.
Schools are about to re-open and with that welcome news we are once again moving forward, planning, and developing our Charity with your support.
And so to our projects for 2015: 
Firstly, the Maintenance of our School buildings must take priority with repainting of classrooms and repair to ceilings as soon as possible;
‘That Bridge’, the one that causes so many injuries, will be repaired with welded iron plates before the rains arrive in June;
The new School Toilets scheduled for last November must also be built soon.
With your help we would like to set up a Community Medical Centre.
A container is now en route with more equipment and charitable goods for the Primary School and it should clear customs in May.
Our thanks must go to all those who have given their support to the Charity over the past year, not least to Westminster International for providing free container space; the Capel Tennis Club for fundraising £650; the Betchworth carol singers, Kingswood House School, Downsend, and the many individuals who have fundraised and donated to our cause. THANK YOU ALL.

MUSA CONTEH APPEAL - Jan '15

MUSA CONTEH APPEAL - Jan '15


It is with the greatest sadness that we report that MUSA CONTEH passed away at noon on Jan 13th, aged 38 years.
Whilst Ebola did not kill him, the disease prevented him getting medical attention he urgently needed because of the ‘lockdown’ within the country which completely restricts people movement. It is so sad. He was one in a million, working tirelessly with our Charity to help others when he himself had so little. Full of fun and laughter, he will be sorely missed. He leaves behind a wife and four children.
‘Musa was so special and full of fun. A lovely man and great friend.
It is hard to believe he has gone and will not be there when we return to Sierra Leone. God Bless you Musa. You will never be forgotten.
Our Appeal to help Musa’s wife and 4 children has raised enough funds to pay rent for the next year, buy food, educate the children and set Musa’s wife up in a small business. Thank you for your donations.
These pictures are a wonderful memory of who he was and show him as a family man, working hard and enjoying life. 
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EBOLA at CHRISTMAS 2014

This Christmas we find our Community in Sierra Leone under the terrifying threat of Ebola. The virus is rampaging through Lungi, wiping out whole families. It is complete heartbreak.
Last week 30 people died in Menika, a village nearby, and this week Foday and his entire family in Tintafore are gone. Houses close to Romeo’s house are under quarantine.
All monies raised now are going directly to our Community in their fight against Ebola to help feed and support those who need help.
All other projects are on hold for the moment and will continue as soon as we are through the worst of the outbreak.
We are now supported by the Westminster Group Foundation, 
(www.wg-foundation.org) recently set up to fight the Ebola threat, and arein the process of shipping further charitable donations down to Lungi. 
We are supporting those whom we know need help such as  
“Granma” pictured  here,  has lost her livelihood due to Ebola – Musa  writes here of her situation :-
“Good morning to you all. Thank you for your timely intervention.I have
given the granma some of the money for food and to start small
business to replace her old traditional medicines which has been baned
because of ebola.i also told her i will keep some of the money for
emergency like sickness.she is very happy and greatfull. she first
dropped some tears because of over joy and said, `God is
great'.Mel,the grama was left with no alternative but to take the risk
of going to makenie . she should have take that risk had`nt been
your intervention. Thanks now she have the full confidence to
stay.The govt is trying hard in it capacity to help. She will soon start her evening kerosine or fish selling. joy makes tears still runs her eyes again. Long live our Charity and God bless us all.”
Myenie and her family are safe for now, and Myenie will soon need a replacement leg. She is growing so quickly! With this in mind we have spoken to Henrietta in Freetown and a new leg will be her Christmas present.
She is a happy little girl
Fundraising continues apace here in the UK and we must thank the carol singers, tennis players and wonderful people in our parishes who have contributed so much to help us help those in Lungi.
Thank you all! We wish you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS! 
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