NEWS Sierra Leone Commercial Bank Supports the Aged Posted by on Nov 18, 2008, 21:51

In Sierra Leone, as in virtually all African countries, age is believed to be revered, but if the way we treat our old people is anything to go by, then that belief in the need to respect old age seems to be dying in Sierra Leone.

A visit to the King George VI Old People’s Home in Kissy will convince any first time visitor, that indeed, Sierra Leoneans no longer revere old age.  You will see old people living in rather poor conditions.  People who from their looks, demeanour and speech, clearly were people of stature in their youth.  Some of them are obviously well educated people, but unfortunately for them, in the twilight of their days, have found themselves with no one to care for them and so they have had no alternative but to become inmates of the Old People’s Home, an institution that has certainly seen better days.

 It was this rather neglected institution that on Friday November 14 benefited from the largesse of the oldest indigenous bank in the country, the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank, in the form of a donation of Le10 million.

Located at Parsonage Street, Kissy Shell area, the Home has a total population of 50 inmates who are being cared for by the staff of the Home headed by a matron.  Because it gets very little input from Government, the inmates of the Home depend largely on donations from charitable organizations and well-meaning individuals to meet their daily needs.

Two senior management staff of the SLCB in the persons of the Executive Director Business Development, Bockarie Kalokoh and the Director of Administration, Mrs. A.D. Scott-Boyle, made the cheque presentation to the Acting Chairperson of the Sierra Leone Society for the Welfare of the Aged and the Matron of King George VI Home, as part of the Bank’s fulfilment of its corporate social responsibility to assist institutions that need help and to solve some of the problems faced in running the home.

The Matron of King George VI Home, Mrs. Genevieve Coker commended the Bank and expressed appreciation for the donation, describing it as a humanitarian move to support the aged.

She said even though there are basic problems within the Home in the area of medical facilities, water and food, donations like this, would help the Home to settle some of the basic problems and would motivate other companies to follow the example of the SLCB.

She assured the bank that the money would be utilized judiciously and as best as possible to care for the aged and urged them to continue to support the deprived Home and the aged.

The matron explained further that the Home has 50 inmates of mixed faiths including the sick and extremely old people. She stated that the Home provides three squares meal a day for the inmates with a little medical attention to treat minor ailments.  She revealed that most of the funds used by the home are from donation that are received from different groups in the country.

Executive Director–Business Development of SLCB, Bockarie Kalokoh spoke about the decision to make the donation to the home as purely based on the bank’s belief in the need to assist deserving groups, especially the aged and stated that such a humanitarian gesture at this time was principally part of the bank’s social functions and commitment to help the deprived organizations that are in dire need of assistance.

He assured the Matron and staff of the Home that this kind of generosity by the bank would not be the last but will serve as the beginning in the area of humanitarian assistance to the home.

He traced the establishment of the bank and its branches around the country and disclosed that the Bank is currently working on two projects to establish branches that would open broaden their scope and extension facilities to the people.

He stressed that as the Bank is giving reliable services to the people of Sierra Leone, they are equally responsible to assist people who are not able to take care of themselves, like the aged at the King George VI Home.

He pointed out that there are many things the home needs, and regardless of the fact that they are there to donate money they have also been able to identify certain areas that the bank might be of help in the near future.

He urged the staff and management of King George VI Home to exhibit humility, courage and commitment in taking good care of the aged.The Director of Administration of the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank, Mrs. A.D. Scott-Boyle, also reiterated the bank’s commitment to continue supporting the Home every year.

She maintained that the donation was a clear manifestation that the bank cares for the aged and stated that this was part of the bank’s social corporate responsibility to help institutions who need assistance.

She called on the management of the Home to take good care of the aged and to be patient in discharging their duty towards the old people because they are helpless and need people to assist them.

The Acting chairperson of the Sierra Leone Society for the Welfare of the Aged, Mrs. Hannah Deen, said had it not been for the timely intervention of SLCB in donating the money, there would have been some major constraints in the Home.She revealed that for the past two days they had not been able to get water, which according to her was one of the problems the home is currently facing.  Mrs. Deen also revealed that another humanitarian organization has been able to ease the water problems in the compound a bit, but in the area of medical facilities, the Home only benefited from one voluntary doctor, who visits to check all the inmates and administer treatment to them.  The Sierra Leone Red Cross Society also assists from time to time.

One of the inmates, Madam Elizabeth Nicol, commended the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank for donating such a huge amount to the Home. “I feel great and appreciated, to see such a wonderful assistance being given to the Home,” she said.

 She also assured the SLCB that the Home would use the money judiciously for them. She called on SLCB to use this as a starting point to continue supporting the Home in diverse ways, so that things would get better for them.