Giving Tuesday Sierra Leone, in partnership with We Yone Child Foundation, Brighter Future Organization, and Grow Sierra Leone, has concluded day two of their four-day visit to Kamakwie, providing free diabetes and high blood pressure tests to residents of Kamakwie.
The free diabetes and high blood pressure tests were carried out at the Maternity Hall of the Kamakwie Hospital, with hundreds of people coming together to seize the opportunity.
The hallmark of the event was seeing scores of people who traveled as far as 15 miles from their homes to the center in Kamakwie to know their statuses.
Volunteers were trained prior to today’s event. In division, volunteers were segmented into groups: nurses, counselors, and data collectors. This, according to the organizers, was to ensure a smooth process and quality delivery.
Speaking to Salone Messenger’s and Concierge of Media’s Abu Bakarr Jalloh, the Head of Medical Volunteers and Senior Public Health Superintendent, Kenneth Dumbuya, said he is happy to see people arriving at the facility as early as 5:00 AM.
“It shows that people were waiting for this opportunity, an opportunity to know their diabetes and blood pressure status,” he said. “We have an influx of people coming to do their tests for free. The response is very positive,” he continued.
A representative from Brighter Future Organization, Michael Kamara, expressed his appreciation and satisfaction with the turnout.
When asked why conducting free diabetes and high blood pressure tests, he said, “According to statistics, a lot of the deaths happening in Sierra Leone are as a result of diabetes and high blood pressure.”
“Many of our people are unaware of these problems; they sometimes attribute them to witchcraft. So we decided to bring this opportunity to our people in Kamakwie to help them know their health status,” he continued.
At the end of collecting the test results, the beneficiaries were given trained counselors to counsel them about their health status and help them psychologically.
Speaking to Abu Bakarr Jalloh, beneficiary Fatmata Osman Kamara, a Police Officer from the Sierra Leone Police Force, said she is extremely impressed by the show of support and professionalism by the volunteers. She further stated that she is “grateful for such an opportunity to know her diabetes and high blood pressure status.”
In continuation of the free diabetes and high blood pressure tests, tomorrow will mark the final day of the free blood pressure and diabetes tests. So far, the turnout has been great on day two.”
