LAS Provides Free Medical

-Breaks Grounds For Medical Center

By Jackson C. Clay, Jr.

The faces of pregnant women, babies’ mothers and as well as old folks of Grand Bassa County were filled with smiles and joy as they all received free medical attention from the Liberia Albino Society (LAS).

The Liberia Albino Society (LAS) on Friday, July 13, 2018 began a one-day free medical outreach to the people of the port city of Buchanan, Grand Bassa County.

The exercise which started in the early morning hours was held at the Liberian Government Hospital in the county and brought together over three hundred persons including babies, old folks and persons living with albinism in the county.

Speaking to a team of journalists during the exercise, the Executive Director of the Liberia Albino Society (LAS), Madam Patricia Logan said it was the group own way of buttressing central government’s efforts in addressing the medical needs of Liberians.

Madam Logan told journalists that the outreach is also in continuation of the celebration of the World Albinism Society Day which is being celebrated each year on the 21^st of June.

“We actually came here to buttress central government’s efforts in providing free medical treatment to our pregnant women and babies and this is to officially climax the celebration of the World Albinism Society day which is celebrated every year on the 21^st of June,” madam Logan said.

The LAS boss indicated that they chose Grand Bassa County because according to her, the county has always stood by the organization since its establishment in 2005, thus, the county has made available three lots of land for the construction of the group’s headquarters in the county.

She puts the cost of the medication provided during the outreach to over six thousand United States dollars (US$6,000.00) and called on government, local and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the country to assist the group as it plans to reach out to other counties across the country.

In brief remarks, Grand Bassa County Superintendent, Janjay Barkpeh expressed sincere thanks and appreciation to the Albino Society for choosing Grand Bassa County for its medical outreach and promised to work with the group in the implementation of the exercise.

“We want to be grateful to the Liberia Albino Society for choosing Grand Bassa County for this kind gesture by providing free medical to our people,” Superintendent Barkpeh said.

The Grand Bassa County Superintendent asserted that the county remains forever grateful to the group and is willing to partner with the LAS in the future in whatever way possible.

Meanwhile, some beneficiaries from the exercise also expressed thanks and appreciation to the group for such a move, adding that this is the first of its kind for such an initiative to be undertaken in their lives.

“We want to thank the Albino people for giving us these free of charge medicines and this is the first time we are witnessing these kinds of things, so we say a very big thank you to the people and called on them to continue to do more for us,” Helena Jackson, Mantee Gweayeah and Catherine Peters are all beneficiaries who expressed thanks and appreciations to the Liberia Albino Society.

In a related development, the Liberia Albino Society has broken grounds for the construction of a ten-bed room medical center within the same Grand Bassa County.

The head of the LAS, Patricia Logan puts the cost of the construction of the health facility at fifty-five thousand United States dollars (US$55,000.00) and the project is expected to be executed within a one-year period.

She indicated that the project is being financed from the meager resources of the society, noting that the project is not intended to benefit people living with albinism in that part of the country but at the entire community and the county at large.

For his part, Assistant Minister for Budget at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), Jessie Kogboi said the group remains a major development partner to government in reaching out to the ordinary people.

Assistant Minister Kogboi assured the group of government continuous support towards every undertaken by the group in the country.