The Airman Ethan E. Dumbuya Foundation has on Thursday 22nd December 2022 been launched at the Prince of Wales School, Kingtom in Freetown.
The launching ceremony was a positive event for underprivileged and at-risk children in communities around the country.
The Foundation was launched to help the less privileged and at-risk children to reach their full potential through education while at the same time helping them to eradicate malnutrition and childhood hunger.
The Foundation constructed eight (8) benches costing Le20M at the POW school and awarded Le2M worth of scholarships to two outstanding junior and senior secondary school pupils.
The Foundation will also help young children to gain self-awareness and confidence to thrive in their communities, provide emergency assistance to new mothers who cannot buy the essentials for their new-borns in addition to helping the new-borns to get basic nutrition and good hygiene required for proper growth.
According to the mother and founder of the Foundation, Mrs. Patricia Kowa-Bayo, it was the dream of his late son who accidentally drowned while swimming in the United States at the age of 23 to help the less privileged as there are lots of students in the country that need help underscoring that if such children are supported, they would excel academically underlining that they are giving back to the school and society. She informed that the late man went to the US in 2018 and died on 11th September 2020 adding that plans are underway to extend the foundation upcountry. The Foundation also awarded scholarships to two deserving pupils of POW each worth Le1, 000 thousand new Leones.
Guest speaker at the ceremony, Dr. Angela Hanciles said she is delighted that the late Airman Ethan Dumbuya, an old boy of the POW, was focused, intelligent, hard-working and selfless, that when he went to the United States at a young age, he told his mother what he wanted to do and that he took steps to achieve his dream and encouraged all to create an impact and put a smile on others’ faces.
She added that she is overwhelmed by the gesture, that in life whatever one does and however small should create an impact, appealed to youths to be studious and put a premium on their education and leave a legacy as well as please people around them reiterating, “do something good for oneself daily.”
The guest speaker further encouraged young people to emulate the sterling example of the late Airman Ethan E. Dumbuya and read an acronym of his first name: Enthusiasm, Tenacious, Hard work, Amazing and Noble.
Dr. Angela Hanciles also recalled that Ethan never bothered his mother in America.
The Chief Unveiler, Mr. Ibrahim Brima Swaray, Executive-Director of the National Public Procurement Authority (NPPA), acclaimed the founder of the Foundation for the laudable gesture which he underscored would help promote education in the country that is the government’s flagship project.
He also donated Le10 thousand new Leones to the Foundation.
The program was chaired by Mr. Emmanuel Konjoh of the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Old boys of the POW and other dignitaries attended the event.
Highlights of the event included musical performances by the POW Brass Band, the unveiling of the benches while the vote of thanks was rendered by Jacqueline Effuah Pratt, a student of Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone.
In another development, the Foundation has donated food items like rice, palm oil, onions, sugar, milk, books, pens, pencils, erasers, body wash, diapers, wipes, powder, baby wash, body lotion, socks, feeding bottles and Vaseline estimated at $15,000 to mothers at the Princess Christian Maternity Hospital (Cottage) in Freetown and an orphanage in Waterloo outside Freetown.
