By Bill W. Cooper
A disabled resident of Montserrado County District 8, Samuel Dean has identified with several fire victims who were made homeless after their house was gutted by fire in the Worwein community in Central Monrovia.
Mr. Dean, who is also vying for the district seat in the upcoming 2023 elections over the weekend, distributed several bags of 25kg rice, tins of oil and cash as means of putting smiles on their faces in the midst of the distress.
Presenting the items to the affected individuals, Dean consoled the victims for what he described as “tragic and unfortunate” the fire outbreak, lamenting that his heart is in prayers with them through these difficult times of their lives.
“My people I’m so sorry for all that you have lost and at least we are also grateful to God that there was no casualty, so I want you to remain focused and keep the hope alive,” he reassured.
Dean further vowed to help relocate the fire victims in subsequent time, and at the same make a clarion call to other well-meaning Liberians for more assistance to be rendered to the recent fire victims across his district.
The tough-talking disabled aspirant who is on record for assisting people with disability said, “If any aspirant, other well-meaning Liberians are listening, you can come in to build these people’s houses.”
“Because the few bags of rice and oil including the cash given to these people by me is not sufficient to relieve them of the burden and pain they are carrying/going through. So, your one cent can help put smiles on the faces of these people,” he added.
Reiterating his decision to contest the district election, Dean vowed to fully represent his constituents and the entire disabled community of Liberia and the National Legislature which he said should have been an advocacy place for the plight of the citizenry, including the disabled community.
Samuel D. Dean, who vowed to prioritize agriculture and education if elected to the House of Representatives, decried the poor education status of the Liberian school system, noting that students are not achieving educationally.
“Every day on my porch l call students coming from school and check in their copybooks. I find out that their notes are not proper. Liberia has a rich land but poor people. No need for government to give money to rice importers; it should give money to the farmers to produce more food instead,” he added.
Dean further stated that as Representative, he will also advocate to ensure that the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) is fully financed to promptly respond to disaster issues when they occur across the country.
In response to the gesture, some of the fire victims said since the fire nightmare, Dean is the only aspirant or prominent person to have identified with them, and expressed their gratitude for the items.
“We are thankful to you and your team for thinking about us in our difficult times and we too owe it to you. May God bless you and your team for your endeavors, our son,” they added.
Samuel Dean or “Chuchu” as he is affectionately called manages the Florence A. Tolbert and the Disabled Advocates Incorporated (FATDA) had since 2008 distributed over 15,000 units of Assistive Technology (AT) throughout Liberia, valued at US$5 million.
