Leone Oil Company (LEONCO), one of the leading Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in the country, with other health sector support partners today Tuesday 12th April, 2022 pledged to fund the construction of a state-of-the-art Burns Unit at Connaught Teaching Hospital in Freetown.
The proposed construction of the unit will commence subject to the approval of the Management of Connaught Teaching Hospital and the architectural design of the funding partners will befit international standards.
The disclosure was made by the Managing Director of LEONCO, Ibrahim Durosimi Cole, at the commissioning of the refurbished Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Annex Wards as well as the launching of fundraising for the construction of the Burns Unit held at the Connaught Teaching Hospital.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Managing Director of LEONCO l disclosed that the reason they were at the event started in October 2021, when he received LinkedIn messages from an old friend who happens to be a Director for Resurge Africa, Catherine Liao, soliciting his support and other partners willing to support a construction of Burns Unit in Freetown.
According to Ibrahim D. Cole, “On the 5th of November 2021, Sierra Leone experienced one of the greatest fire tragedies in her history where hundreds of people perished and hundreds more were left to recover from burns in five different hospitals in Freetown without independent Burns Units.”
The Managing Director said the fire disaster happened ten days after he was asked to help find funding for a Burns Unit, adding, “Obviously, the need for one was glaringly revealed and it was a sad site to behold.”
“On November 7, I emailed Catherine and told her I was ready to make a move and let us have a call to discuss,” Mr. Cole disclosed. “After speaking to my colleagues in the industry, I was able to get NP-SL Limited to partner with Leone Oil to jointly fund the construction of the first state-of-the-art Burns Unit in Sierra Leone.” He said Resurge’s push has borne fruit and have committed to fully equip the building with all the necessary medical equipment with other charitable individuals.
Mr. Cole further expressed optimism that it would not end there as the unit would need more well-trained doctors that would become better paid doctors within the building halls. He thanked Resurge Africa for their commitment to Sierra Leone and looked forward to a long-lasting relationship as partners in providing assistance to the country. Hear the Managing Director: “As an indigenous company of Sierra Leone, we take our corporate social responsibility very seriously as our aim is to make tangible contributions towards the development of our country. From the drilling of wells to supplying clean water to underprivileged communities, educating children from poor families, feeding the needy and supporting several other charity organizations that contribute meaningfully to the needs of our people in this country.
Our DNA thrives at giving back as we believe that no other people will develop Sierra Leone except with the contributions of Sierra Leoneans.”
The Honourable Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh showered praises on two health sector support partners, Leone Oil Company (LEONCO) and National Petroleum – Sierra Leone (NP-SL) with special thanks to CEO Tunde Cole.
