The Medical Impact Sierra Leone (MISL), in collaboration with Tangible Academic Youth Forum, (TAYFO-SL) end a three days Civic Education and Non-Violence Campaign for Youths on the theme “End Misuse of Drugs and Youths for Peaceful 2023 Elections.”
The well-attended sensitization workshop for 500 participants drawn from the Western Area Urban took place at the Sierra Leone Muslim Brotherhood Primary School on Oldfield Street in Freetown.
The aim of the event was to ensure a peaceful 2023 elections, how Youths must behave and participate before, during and after elections in Sierra Leone. , that they must be law abiding and promote political tolerance.
Welcoming the participants, the Program Manager of Tangible Academic Youth Forum (TAYFO-SL) Mr. Adikalie Morlai Kamara said the program has being facilitated by Medical Impact Sierra Leone (MISL) and TAYFO. He furthered said the program is to educate young people of their civic rights and responsibilities and to avoid violence in the 2023 general election for a better Sierra Leone because elections come and go but we remains as Sierra Leoneans. He thanked all members present and wished them a truthful deliberation.
In his keynote address, the Executive-Director of Tangible Academic Youth Forum (TAYFO), Mr. Alieu Badara Sesay commended government for reintroducing Civic Education in schools, highlighted some of the rights and responsibilities of young people, that all must promote political tolerance and asserted that further trainings would be conducted for the Youths and encourage them to be Election Peace Ambassadors in their respective communities. He cautioned them about the responsible use of the social media, to be focused, law abiding and to empower themselves to be more marketable. TAYFO-SL has trained Sierra Leoneans and Non-Sierra Leoneans in computer studies, such as Security forces, University students, youth groups from different schools, women and religious leaders.
He also revealed that MEDICAL IMPACT SIERRA LEONE (MISL) is from Medical IMPACT International based in Mexico who gave the authority to establish a chapter in Sierra Leone called Medical Impact Sierra Leone (MISL). And MISL has over the years organized awareness raising campaigns to youths, learning institutions, communities on health related issues. MISL has also organized outreach in learning institution, communities and market centers in Sierra Leone. He told the participants that MISL will soon and continue to engage Community Health Workers, (CHWs) on primary healthcare, HIV AIDS, TB and Malaria programmes in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation.
- Similar statements were also made by representatives of other CSOs including Alhaji Aywe who underscored the need to empower youths, Sheik Morlai who underscored that MISL and TAYFO is held in high esteem by the international community and Bai Dabolla who disclosed that his organization has benefited a lot from MISL and TAYFO through the Tony Blair Foundation program as a Malaria Faith Ambassador through which that they have gained a lot of experience on health issues.
Other speakers’ cautioned youths not to participate in political violence campaigns/rallies and be tolerant as election ambassadors of the country underscoring that they must not allow politics to divide the country.
Some of the participants interviewed commended the organizers for the knowledge gained which they stressed would help them in their work.
The question and answer session climaxed the event.
