By Grace Q. Bryant
The Association For Life of Africa- Liberia (AFLA-Liberia) over the weekend donated seven bags of rice and 10 covid preventive buckets to Hope in God Association of the Blind on the Bardnesville road.
Speaking during the donation ceremony at their national headquarter opposite the MSF Hospital in Barnesville, the country Director of AFLA , George Festus Blamoh, stated that they believe that all lives are valuable and sacred.
“So we thought it wise that we want to give you our shoulder to stand on therefore we want to start this and also extend our relationship with you,” he expressed.
According to Director Blamoh, AFLA-Liberia is a Christian Non-Governmental Organization that is reaching, rescuing and restoring broken communities and lives through our various centers across Liberia by providing health care, counseling, ministry, education, and social services where lives are being saved and changed.
“We believe in the sanctity of life and that that all lives are valuable and should be respected and taken in consideration and that you are visually impaired, we believe that you are valuable, important and have lots of potential therefore you have the ability to contribute to the transmission and healing processes of Liberia,” he added.
He further explained that to have over 50 persons to maintain is a challenge for the organization coupled with the growing numbers of children and stating that the items is their own way of assisting the blind in fighting the virus.
“I want to encourage our people out there to join us, AFLA-Liberia, so that we can give help to our own people and provide some scholarship for those children that are here to be able to go to school so we cannot encourage the circle of poverty,” he revealed.
On behalf of the Association, the president of blind, Johnson Dorbor, extended his appreciation that a group like AFLA-Liberia could come to their doorstep in such time of crisis and added that they will maintain the relationship by working with them.
“Thank you for bringing smiles on our faces and we also want to advance ourselves in education so that people can know that despite of being blind, that does not mean we have lost all of your senses instead we can learn like any other person,” Dorbor added.
He maintained, “We have not been informed about your institution and its location but coming out with such opportunity makes us happy.
Meanwhile, the president of the Liberian United Rural Association of blind in Lofa County, Sakoun Yen, also appreciated AFLA for reaching out to his friends and appealed to them that one day they should go to Lofa because they too are really in need and his institution is involved with agriculture.
According to him, Lofa County is a bread basket of Liberia, adding that they are involved in farming but the roads condition have denied them from so many things, therefore the disabled people in the county are really suffering.
“We appealed that Lofa County is part of Liberia, Monrovia is not only Liberia, so one day you people will think about us because we don’t get it easily,” he maintained.
In conclusion, the president of blind Association in Maryland County Joseph T.K Barfeh further expressed thanks to the institution saying, “Blind people got their contributions to make in this society but you have to empower them. So many times people overlook visual-impaired only because of their physical looks, but i think we should go beyond that and empower everyone or build everyone’s capacity so that indeed you can see what blind people are made of.”
He revealed that the sight does not matter, ” I do not need sights to tell you that indeed this country deserve better because even the sight is not there to see the electricity but the electricity also have worked for me meaningfully,” he expressed.
“So if the national government is not looking at us or other private institutions, then indeed you will not get what we are made of,” he disclosed.