As Sierra Leone joins the rest of the world to mark this year’s world peace day, Bollore Transport and Logistics has responded to the theme by showcasing shared love and compassion to aged residents at the King George’s home at Grafton community in Freetown.
Welcoming her guests to the home in a well- attended ceremony on Monday 21st September, 2020; the welfare officer Madam Brenda Forde Farmer expressed her delight in playing host of a company she had heard a lot of good things about.
Madam Farmer said without sight of what the Bollore brought as donation for them, they were overwhelmed with joy and hope since the day the news of coming is shared with the residents of the home.
She narrated a brief history of the home which spanned from the end of the Second World War II to date and the challenges they are going through.
She noted threat of encroachers to their parcel of land and access to water is their major challenge.
She said the incomplete perimeter fence had given field day to thieves and abusers on many occasions.
Delivering his speech, the Country Manger Captain Fabjanko Kokan said without pre knowledge that their donation would coincide with the celebration of International peace day and its theme calling for sharing of love and compassion, his country office had reached a decision longtime ago on what do, when to do and who to target.
Their presence at the home, Captain Kokan maintained, was to provide answers to those questions.
“Marking the 5th edition of Bollore Marathon, we thought our charity beneficiaries should be the aged and destitute in this home,” He explained.
“Donating the tens of millions of Leones worth of food and non-food items to home of the aged falls in line with the International Peace day celebrations whose theme calls for show of love and compassion,” he said.
Captain Kokan also notes that his company is of the view that a world with hunger is a world without peace, hence their decision to address the hunger situation faced by the aged at King George’s home.
Mr. Darrell Coker, who doubles as Freetown Terminal IT analyst and Marathon day event coordinator said for the fifth year running the company had settled for this date and month to give smiles to the vulnerable and destitute, referencing the schools for the blind, deaf and dumb as immediate past beneficiaries.
He assured that as long as the company continues to operate in the country more people in need will be targeted wherever they might be.
Mr. Coker challenged other cooperate entities to emulate their examples by giving human face to their work and prepare to switch the goal post from the traditional corporate social responsibility approach to Corporate philanthropy as in the case of Bollore.
CREDIT: John Malimber Kanu