Mercury Consoles Susan’s Bay Fire Victims
As an immediate response and to console victims of the Susan’s Bay fire disaster, Sierra Leone’s leading and unchallenged Cooperate Social Responsibility giant, Mercury International on Friday 26th March 2021, donated items worth Le 150,000,000 (One Hundred and Fifty Million Leones) and a cheque of Le 50, 000,000 (Fifty Million Leones) as timely support, following the ugly fire incident that left thousands of residents living the community homeless.
As a way of sharing the pains of the victims, Mercury International, made a delegation, compromising of senior management and other staff, to visit the disaster site, and to also determine the magnitude of the disaster caused by the fire incident even before the distribution of the donated items.
Meanwhile, the delegation which was headed by the Chief Of Staff of the company also included the Human Resource Manager, Miss Michaela Sannoh, Procurement and Logistics Manager Mr Osama Zayart among others.
During the symbolic presentation, Mercury International Public Relations Manager, Alhaji Komba, said, they feel compelled to make an immediate move to comfort the victims of the fire incident because Mercury International is operating within their community.
“Mercury International is operating in Sierra Leone which means every area in the country including Susan’s Bay and that is why we always feel the pains of the people like those who suffered in this incident; even though it is not something we anticipated, but as a Company, we believe in humanity and to be kind and compassionate to people who are in distress, which is why we are here today.”
According to the company’s Chief of Staff, Miss Dawn Cummings-John, the donation worth around Two Hundred Million Leones (Le 200,000,000) was on compassionate grounds as the victims needed immediate support to help alleviate their present predicament.
She expressed sympathy on behalf of the company to the victims, especially the children.
“We understand over 300 children were affected by the fire outbreak of which, we believe it is but fitting for us to come in and help in our little way,” Miss Cummings-John said, as she continued to console the victims with words of courage.
The Mercury International Chief of Staff said, her company has always provided support and a helping hand to people who have suffered from devastations caused by natural disasters in the country.
Receiving the cheque, and the donated items, the Councilor of Susan’s Bay community and its surroundings, Madam Madinatu Kamara, thanked Mercury International for their continued humanitarian moves to the people of Sierra Leone, adding that the company has always supported Sierra Leoneans.
She said: “I want to assure Mercury International that this cheque and the donated items will be used and shared among the victims. On behalf of my people, I want to say thank you again for your worth emulating move.”
Meanwhile, the Assistant Director Disaster Risk Reduction, Disaster Management Department, Office of National Security (ONS) Mrs Philomina Isatu Turay, also extended her profound gratitude to Mercury International, on behalf of the government of Sierra Leone, as she described them as exemplary in adhering to Cooperate Social Responsibilities in the country.
She further recalled the partnership support they, as a government agency, have enjoyed from Mercury International, especially when we also had the fire disaster at Angola Town and the Mudslide disaster couple of years ago, which accounted for the massive loss of lives and properties in Sierra Leone.
Turay also warned against the unnecessary use of fire and the wrong electrical connections in our houses.
The donated items included; 276 bags of rice, 40 five gallons of palm oil, 1,500 sachets of Ovaltine, 25 twenty litres of oil, 50 packets of milk, 50 packets of salts, 50 kilograms of sugar, 50 boxes of tea leaves, 50 bottles of Mayonnaise, toiletries, clothing, 40 mattresses amongst others.
This is not the first time Mercury International is making such a huge and timely support to victims of fire disaster in the country, in December 2016, the Company extended their philanthropic gesture to victims of Fort Street in Freetown by donating One Hundred Million Leones (Le 100,000,000) as an immediate response.