The
community of Kiang Batelling, Lower River Region over the weekend received a
donation of a new ambulance from Musical friends of the Gambia in Holland.
The
Ambulance came through the support and coordination of Sulayman Jammeh, ward
councilor of Bundung, who is widely credited for his development oriented
persona.
At
the presentation held at the village, Essa Sanyang, a representative of the
Alkalo of Batelling, hailed the donors for responding and addressing one of the
major challenges of the village.
He
indicated that many women experienced difficult during labour as there is no
means of transportation, saying that nightmare will now be a thing of the past.
According
to him, the distance from the village health post to the main road is about 6km
and as such many people resort to using horse carts and donkey-carts for
referrals. The distance and other challenges, he added, result to most women
having miscarriage and their new-born die on the way.
“Therefore,
supporting the community with an ambulance is a worthy cause and commendable.
We want to thank Sulayman Jammeh, who is the brain behind all this success and
we want to assure him that we will endeavor to maintain the Ambulance so as to
last long.”
Also
speaking, Sutay Drammeh, regional head director, LRR, underscored the
importance of mobility, noting that with the coming of this new ambulance, it
will make referrals easier.
He
maintained that it has always being a slogan at health sector that no women
should die as a result of labour.
Drammeh
described the gesture as timely and worthy and went on to thank the donors for
the laying the foundation stone for the fencing of the village primary school.
The
ambulance, he went on, is meant to safe life, further urging the community to
use the Ambulance for its intended purpose.
Sulayman
Jammeh, ward councilor for Bundung, thanked the community of Batelling for the
warm welcome accorded to him and his delegation.
The
move, he said, is not only to support to the village health sector, but also to
contribute their quota towards the development of the country’s health.
Delivering
the vote of thanks, Momodou Sanneh, deputy speaker of the National Assembly and
also a native of the village, hailed the donors for the gesture he described as
‘laudable’.
Sanneh
went on to describe the coming of the ambulance as ‘timely’, and calls for more
cooperation and unity to ensure that the ambulance last long.
The
new ambulance, he added, would go a long reducing the daily hardship faced by
women especially those at labour by ensuring timely referrals.
The event was followed by presentation
certificates of appreciation by the community of Batelling to the donors.
