By Posseh Kamara
Tourists who visited Sierra Leone have expressed dismay over the vulnerability of the aged especially those on the streets.
“I felt perturbed when I passed through the streets of Freetown and found a lot of under-privileged women and men asking for alms. I wonder what government is doing to address the distress,” A Rwandee, Millet Walker wondered.
Government, Walker says, must set up a ministry to cater for the aged to decongest the streets. She said the current situation meant that Sierra Leone government had a lot to be done in tackling the plight of the poor.
“Safe homes for the aged could be a permanent solution, provide them with support and remove them from the streets,” she suggested.
Other tourists also expressed similar concerns about such vulnerable groups of society. In an exclusive interview, one of the vulnerable men on the street, Michael Cole explained how he toiled to put food on the table.
According to him, “I had to sell rubber bottle that I picked up from the streets before I survive.” Cole, a father of three, has been abandoned by his children owing to his present condition. Cole’s abandoning comes at a time he has lost his wife making life worse for him.
“Before the death of my lovely wife who has been there for me, I involved in an accident that left me with a broken leg,” he recounted.
The accident brought more trouble for Cole’s wife who had been toiling to make ends, a situation that led her to untimely death. To ease the suffering, Cole urged government to come their rescue since feeding is a big challenge for them.
“This is not really easy for me. I haven’t eaten anything since this morning. I wonder how am I going to cope with life for the next couple of days,” Cole narrated his sad story.
He also calls on government’s intervention to help the needy especially the aged. “As aged, we need rice supply and tokens to open cigarettes boxes so that we can manage our life for the meantime,” he said.
Alie Koroma, another aged, who is also struggling to survive explained how his children are not looking after him. He revealed that his children are jobless and cannot look after themselves well let alone taking care of another person.
At the moment, according to Koroma, there is no family member to care about his living.
“My family refused even to visit me to know my situation. I am sick for the past five years. No money for hospital, instead area nurses have been helping me with some medicines to get back my health. I cannot walk for a long distance, and how can I feed myself when things are not easy for me and my family,” he narrated.
Koroma is also calling on government to assist them with some amount of money and their wives until their children get better jobs. “If government decides to provide job opportunities for our children, it will be better for our family,” he expressed hope.
Koindeh Fornah, a widow whose husband died four years ago left her with four children.
The kids are grown-ups now, but survival is also a big challenge as they are jobless.
Her means of survival, Fornah says, at this trying time is relatively tough and not fun at all, but she ekes a living on petty trading.
“I am surviving at the moment through sales of tobacco,” she revealed.
She furthered explains how her children still struggle to feed themselves and how they can support her. “My children are jobless and their only source of income is stone breaking. My daughters are also yet to get married and all of them also break stones to survive,” she maintained.
Fofanah’s situation is also worsened by persistent leakage of her house which she lives in. She urged government to ensure financial and material support to the aged not only in Freetown but also the provinces.
Mamy Fatmata Turay who also faces survival challenges holds similar views. Like Fofanah, she ends up her account calling on government to look into their situation.