The Hon, Claude Kamanda - Waterloo - 28 July 2010

Claude Kamanda is the MP for Constituency 95 and the Equiano Centre sits within his constituency. He is a great friend and supporter of the CODEP initiatives.

On 28 July 2010, before the Literacy Training started he delivered the following Keynote Address, which we repeat in full:

We must continue to thank God and celebrate, not only as a village in waterloo, but as a constituency, a district and as a nation. This is because partners abroad continue to pour their resources in every part of Sierra Leone, and Waterloo not been an exception. All gears towards the building of our country Sierra Leone.

The case of waterloo is a unique one. Unique in the sense that since the formation of the partnership by Hon. Princess Babajigida in 2005, between Waterloo S/L and Waterloo U.K., after the tragic civil war: a lot of developmental activities as well as exchange visits have led to wider experience and cultural exchange; the developmental activities have led to the following:

• The construction of the Williams street bridge that links Waterloo and the Christian Cemetery
• The construction of a 3- classroom building for Kulaifai Primary school
• Provision of support to a 25 years old young widow with 4 children
• Support to 40 vulnerable school children in waterloo
• The construction of a bakery for the Progressive Women’s Organisation
• The construction of the Youth Centre
• The ongoing construction of the Gbeshan bridge that will link the market and Lumpa
• The ongoing construction of the Equiano Centre
• Two cassava grating machines to help ease some of the challenges faced by the Cassava Bread and fry-fish sellers.

Mr. Chairman, the Waterloo Partnership gave birth to CODEP (Construction and Development Partnership). Both have worked immensely in the area of education in Waterloo, and now stretching to Lunsar and Port Loko. Thousands of books as well as school equipments and materials have been made available to over 80 schools. Also, the Reading Culture Committee has encouraged lots of schools to establish school Libraries. Majority of you here present are living testimonies. All these gear towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal.

Mr. Chairman, recently CODEP opened to the public a Mini Library, in order to make available and accessible reading materials to our pupils and students during the holiday; as all schools libraries shall be closed down. The school libraries and the recently opened Mini Library are established in preparation for the Waterloo complex Library that is to complete construction by the end of 2011.

Furthermore, to equip teachers who are, and shall be manning the school libraries, you teachers have been invited for a two-day basic training on Librarianship. I therefore call on you and encourage you all to effectively make use of this opportunity. Remember, thousands are out there yearning for such opportunity. Please make sure and make it a duty, to implement the skills and knowledge you would be acquiring or gaining here; to the best advantage of the children you represent.

Mr. Chairman, permit me to heartily appreciate and thank Hon. Claire Curtis-Thomas, Lori and the entire CODEP THREE PEAK TEAM and their supporters for through the cold, wet, dark, windy, and rainy climates; just to see that funds are raised to make this training a reality. As a village, a constituency, as a district and nation, we dug our hearts to them.

Mr. Chairman, as a sign of appreciation to CODEP U.K.’s commitment to help build not only Waterloo but our Nation; in that they continue to take adventures to promote our educational sector; I therefore pledge an additional three (3) months’ salary for the staff of the Mini Library in Waterloo.

With this, I now declare the training session open.

Hon. Claude D. M. Kamanda
Constituency 95.