lungisierraleone.org.uk
Updates
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Bush Vaccinations - 2021
Little people receiving their vaccinations in the countryside around Lungi. The motorbike ambulances are incredibly useful as they can go just about anywhere . They are based at our Medical Centre and are being put to good use!
Medical Centre Babes - 2021
Just a few of the Happy, healthy bouncing babes born at the Medical Centre in January 2021! Welcome!
Baby Margaret is also thriving!
Merry Christmas
and Happy New Year 2020 - 2021
2020 - 2021
Thank you all for your continued support during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The development of the IT Centre, the Covid Rice Appeal, saving Baby Margaret, amazing advances with treatments and facilities on offer at the Medical Centre, and the building of the new Junior Secondary School, not to mention outreach into the community including vaccinations and pupil support, have all combined to make it a very busy year!
However, it has not been without difficulty and frustration with projects held in limbo, not least the build of the Junior Secondary School which has been on hold since March.
On a positive note, we hope that building work will resume shortly and pupils and staff will be able to enjoy their new school in the coming year.
2021 can't come soon enough!
New Blue "All Weather Covers" for our Motorbike Ambulances - oct '20
The Motorbike ambulances, operating a free service, have proved incredibly useful in the delivery of the vaccination programme rolled out earlier this year, transporting nurses and delivering vaccine throughout the Lungi area as well as transporting pregnant and injured patients to hospitals and the Medical Centre.
Charity Update - 31 Aug 2020
Lungi Life continues with all the hustle and bustle of Africa despite the Covid threat, and the Community has returned to everyday life now that lockdown is over.
The Rice Appeal
made throughout May, June and July was a great success, and provided much needed relief. Lungi SL Charity has fed approximately 1400 people over a three month period and delivered 7.3 tonnes of rice to needy families in the Lungi area. We are so pleased that we were able to provide this vital chance to improve people's chances in the fight against Covid-19, and all donations have been very much appreciated
The Evans Medical Centre is thriving.
Four full time permanent nurses are able to offer Free Full Term Pregnancy Care at our Centre.
Patients are looked after from the beginning of their pregnancy until the birth of their child, ensuring the best care possible and monitoring for pre-eclampsia.
Free Childbirth is available at the Medical Centre.
There are Pregnancy checkups every Sunday for those wishing to attend the clinics.
Evans Medical Centre is the Free Mosquito Net Distribution Centre.
Free Malaria diagnosis and treatment is available at the Medical Centre to all.
Free vaccinations (vaccine supplied by the Government) are given each week with the nurses going out with our Motorbike Ambulances to deliver vaccines in targeted villages - slowly and steadily all will be vaccinated as the programme methodically delivers vaccinations for measles, mumps and rubella.
Our Free Motorbike Ambulance Service
continues to provide an effective service and now has the additional role of providing transport for the vaccination programme. Every week the nurses visiting the different villages do so using the Motorbike Ambulances.
Aug 2020 Update cont'd :
Meet Margaret
- a three month old baby girl we are looking after - her mother has no milk as she has had hepatitis and the wee babe was in a bad way when we found her. Her mum could not afford baby formula. Two months on she is lovely and plump and a beautiful little girl. We will supply her milk for at least a year and probably for as long as she needs it.
The EJSS school build
has remained on hold since the onset of Covid-19 in March, and will not resume now until after the rains in November - there is so much water everywhere that it’s impossible to to do anything for now.
The villagers have played a big part in the build to date and we have an excellent team of builders under the watchful eye of Romeo and Sammy. Not only have they supplied us with much needed manpower in the transport of supplies, but have got together to help us with the build - they have supplied sand when deliveries dried up and helped construct the road and clear the site of jungle to construct the eight classroom building. Amazing people!
We are now up to roof height and ready for the timber but… not until after the rains! We hope to install a computer lab in an effort to make this new school as up to date as possible, allowing the children to excel in their studies.
Lungi News During Covid-19
Rice Appeal
We began our fundraising for the Rice Appeal on April 24th 2020, and began the distribution of rice in May, with further distribution in June and July.
To date we have helped about 1400 people through this initiative and in the process have distributed 7.3 tonnes of rice.
On May 6th we distributed 44 bags of rice, each weighing 50kg, to 44 families.
On June 4th we distributed a further 55 bags of 50kg rice, one to each family.
On July 10th we distributed a further 47 bags of 50kg rice, one to each family.
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR DONATIONS AT THIS TIME - -WE HAVE REALLY MADE A DIFFERENCE!
We set up the Fundraising programme through JustGiving to feed the children and families in our Lungi area during the Covid-19 pandemic, believing the best chance we have of helping them right now is to feed them, keep them as strong as possible to get through Covid.
The children were so hungry during lockdown - no work means no money to buy food in an area where hand to mouth living is the norm.
'Canadian Solar', one of our sponsors, summed up the situation beautifully below:
"The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is the defining global health crisis of our time and the greatest challenge we have faced since World War Two. The virus has spread to every continent
except Antartica. But the pandemic is much more than a health crisis, it is also an unprecedented socio-economic crisis, stressing every one of the countries it touches. Every day, people are losing jobs and income, with no way of knowing when normality will return. The International Labour Organization estimates that 195 million jobs could be lost. Sierra Leone, one of the world’s poorest countries in West Africa, confirmed its first case of coronavirus in early April 2020. A low-income country with limited intensive care capacity and a population of 7.8 million, the vast majority of its people lack the financial means to ‘stay at home’ or observe social distance.
National lockdowns and social distancing measures means no work and no incomes, leaving families to worry how they will get enough to eat - they are facing an uncertain future."
Rice Appeal
BELOW IS A PRESS RELEASE FROM THE BBC WORLD NEWS
- Africa -released Wednesday 6th May, which totally confirms our worries. (bbc.co.uk)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-52557464?fbclid=IwAR3okbXgKrCJG-6aKWiSKkRquFmx5Qh3kkY01SRclSVt-rKUn7Z-ToCXr8c which reads as follows:
Coronavirus: Most Africans 'will go hungry in 14-day lockdown'
More than two-thirds of people surveyed in 20 African countries said they would run out of food and water if they had to stay at home for 14 days.
According to the survey, the lowest-income households expected to run out of food and money in less than a week.
More details can be found on our website under 'fundraising' should you wish to participate,
or via the Just Giving sites below. Meanwhile thank you for your support and interest as always.
wwwjustgiving.com/fundraising/kidsfeedingkids
www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Katherine-Evans14.
Mel, Richard and the Lungi Team!
Building Schools in Sierra Leone
Jan 2020
has seen a great start for Lungi Charity with the start of our new building project
The
Junior Secondary School
build is underway and has involved clearing dense jungle to make a road and ready the site, filling deep holes where villagers have taken soil to make mud houses, and at all times taking care to avoid poisonous snakes and spiders! The mood behind the school is extraordinarily positive and the villagers have come to our aid when we have needed them - they really want this school! So many have turned out to help us clear the land; they have carried a mountain of poles to the site, and have brought us sand to make bricks and cement when diesel for transport dried up for four days! 200-300 men, women and children came to help get us started - Awesome! The school consists of eight classrooms, all 6m X 7m in a U-shape on an acre of ground. In the 6 weeks since we started building in January, our team of ten have dug the foundations, made the bricks, pillars, lintels dug a cesspit, and raised the building up to ceiling height. Extraordinary!
Our building of the Secondary School halted just as we were about to put the roof on in March, due to Covid-19. Building is unlikely to resume until after the rains in the autumn.
IT Centre Opens - Jan 2020
The I.T. centre took shape in September 2019 and opened to our new students in January 2020, equipped with 10 computers.
Numerous courses are available, giving equal opportunity to all.
They include Microsoft Publisher, Word, Power Point, Access, Excels, Internet Browsing, Typing, and Computer Hardware.
The courses are run by Ishmael whom the charity has supported throughout his own schooling and computer education.
It's great to see things come full circle!
The IT centre is currently closed due to Covid and will hopefully re-open in the autumn.