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*Monday 27th May 2024, NaCSA House, Charlotte Street*
- In response to the clarion call by President Julius Maada Bio, for every Sierra Leonean to work towards the realization of sustainable food security in the country, the Commissioner of the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA ), Amb. Ernest Mbaimba Ndomahina, a couple of days ago brought together in Taiama, Kori Chiefdom, Moyamba District, women from different livelihood activities to sensitize and organize them to work together to be economically viable.
Ambassador Ndomahina advised the nearly 200 women who represented 19 groups from across the Taiama township and its environs to ensure that their groups were well structured so that they could benefit from various opportunities offered by NaCSA and other development partners including non-governmental organizations.
Commissioner Ndomahina told the women that the best that has happened to Sierra Leone is having President Julius Maada Bio as President of Sierra Leone at this time. *"President Maada Bio's vision for Sierra Leone is that we should grow what we eat and eat what we grow,"* he explained.
Amb. Ernest Ndomahina admonished the women to embrace the President's Feed Salone agenda and to work towards achieving food self-sufficiency and a better standard of life for their households. This intervention is part of the Sierra Leone Community Driven Development (SLCDD) project funded by the Islamic Development Bank and the Government of Sierra Leone.
The women's leader, Theresa G Kamara, thanked the commissioner for his interest in the empowerment of rural women. She informed him and his team from NaCSA that the women were undertaking various livelihood activities, and that most of the groups were in agriculture, growing mostly rice, cassava, potato, and vegetables.
The Programme Manager of the SLCDD Project, Momoh Juanah, who facilitated the meeting explained to the women that their groups were required to have executives, group bylaws, registration certificates and bank accounts for them to operate with NaCSA and other development partners.
The climax of the meeting was the presentation of Ten Thousand New Leones (Le10,000) to the group leaders to facilitate the registration of the groups and to open group accounts with rural financial institutions in the chiefdom. *"Registering your groups and opening bank accounts will enable you to access finance from institutions, to grow and expand your farming and other livelihood activities,"* he said.
On the other hand, about a month ago, the Commissioner also engaged various Self-help Affinity Groups (SAGs), all women, in Kenema City on how they could work in unity to achieve the President's goal for a food-self-sufficient Sierra Leonean community.
*Submitted by Momoh Juana, Programme Manager SLCDD II*
*For further information on this and other matters, * *Please contact:*
*The Information, Education and Communication Unit*
*+23277022709/+23278319419/+23230518539*