Around The Country: Updates From Five Counties – July 9, 2020

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Grand Bassa County: A Helping Hand To the Police

A view of a sedan donated by a prominent son of Grand Bassa County to the county’s Police Detachment  | Photo By: Elton Wrionbee Tiah

A Prominent son of Grand Bassa County has donated a vehicle to the police detachment of the county as his way of helping the police serve the county adequately.

Anthony Barchue, who is also the founder and chief executive officer of Hope Foundation Liberia, told reporters that “all citizens need to help the government because we are the direct beneficiaries of the police services.”

Receiving the key of the vehicle, Saickor Freeman, Commander of the county assured that they will use it for the intended purpose.

“I just don’t know how to express my happiness and gratitude to you because since I have been in Grand Bassa County, it’s my first time for an individual to think about the movement of we the police,” he said.

“We have called on leaders and other prominent citizens to help but they just couldn’t do.”

Gbarpolu County: Women Leading COVID-19 Awareness

Madam Bendu Jah says her rural women organization is leading the COVID-19 awareness campaign in communities | Phot By: Henry B. Gboluma, Jr.

In Gbarpolu county, women continue to demonstrate their interest in supporting the fight against the novel coronavirus disease as they lead awareness campaign about the pandemic in their communities.

“We visited Gbarma district and five major towns to carry [out] the coronavirus prevention campaign,” said Madam Bendu Jah, head of the county’s Rural Women organization, during Tuesday’s daily Incident Management System (IMS) meeting in Bopolu city.

Jah said only through persistent information sharing about the current health crisis that will ensure that the county defeats the virus.

“Today, let me report here that [it] is only through our awareness program that our people will believe [that the virus exists] and support the ongoing fight against this coronavirus, ” she said.

Currently, Gbarpolu has 10 confirmed COVID-19 cases two deaths and five recoveries, according to the National Public Health Institution of Liberia.

River Cess County: Enhancing Teachers’ Capacity

Forty-two teachers are being trained as part of a project that will see them obtain “C” Certificate | Photo By: Eric Opa Doue

The Ministry of Education is currently conducting in-service trainings for 40 public school teachers in River Cess County.

According to Shekou S. Darque, Training Supervisor, the project is being implemented by the Diversified Educators Empowerment Program or DEEP, which is funded by the World Bank through the Global Partnership Education.

It is a one year project targeting six “disadvantaged counties” including River Cess, Bomi, Sinoe, Grand Kru, River Gee and Maryland Counties for teachers who do not meet the Ministry’s minimum qualification of Grade ‘C’ Teaching Certificate to teach elementary school.

Twenty-two of the 40 teachers are being trained in Yarpah Town while 18 are being trained in Cestos city. The training, which started on July 1, is expected to end on the 23rd of July.

Upon completion, participants are expected to undergo additional three weeks training at the Kakata Rural Teacher Training Institute in Margibi County before obtaining Grade ‘C’ Teaching Certificates.

Maryland County: Training Community Health Volunteers

A training intended to prepare community health volunteers and other health workers to respond to COVID-19 in communities has ended in Maryland County.

Olasford Wiah, Director of Community Health services at the Ministry of Health, said the training will target community and animal health assistants, community health supervisors, port health staff, and officers of Liberia Immigration Services

The training was conducted in two phases: community engagement and the CoVID-19 response, he said.

He stressed the need for increased community engagement exercises to educate community members about the pandemic, while calling on communities to work with volunteers, who have been trained, to prevent the spread of COVID-19

Bong County: Donation to County Health Team

Naomi Tulay-Solanke and Team posed for a photograph with some of the items donated to the Bong County Health Team on July 7, 2020

A non-governmental organization, Liberian Women Humanitarian Network (LWHN), has donated several medical and non-medical items to Bong County Health Team.

Materials donated include, a washing machine for healthcare workers, scrubs, and linens, two cartoons of disposable sanitary pads, two water dispensers, among other items.

Presenting the materials to the County Health Team, Naomi Tulay-Solanke, a member of the organization, said the donation is one of the organization’s several goodwill gesture to health institutions across the country since the COVID-19 outbreak in Liberia.

Tulay-Solanke said the organization’s support to the county healthcare delivery system will contribute to the timely opening of the County Treatment Unit (CTU) to will hasten the reopening of Phebe Hospital – a major referral health facility on the county.

Taking delivery of the items, the County Health Officer, Dr. Adolphus Yeiah commended the organization and pleaded with people of the county to support the CHT with food and non-food items to enhance the CHT response to curb the spread of the COVID-19.