Tegloma Convention in Chicago this weekend

Tegloma International federation is meeting in Chicago this weekend for the annual international convention. As a member of the Board of Tegloma Federation, I pray and hope this convention would be devoted to exploring ideas that would increase the relevance of Tegloma in the lives of the people it represents and that of the Sierra Leone populace in general.

My particular hope is that Tegloma starts devoting the majority of the income we generate towards expanding charitable causes in Sierra Leone. As a board member representing the great state of Minnesota and my home districts of Kailahun and Kenema,I have set myself the following goals, and would work assiduously to ensure that they are transmitted to the general membership.
1. The expansion of the scholarship program in the interior of the country: I believe that this expansion should be both geographical and numerical
2. Initiation of a clothing drive to benefit amputees in Sierra Leone: Growing up in Sierra Leone, we all have first hand experience regarding the difficulty of the jobless to put decent shirts on their backs. Just imagine the case of those who are both jobless and physically disadvantaged. A program for amputees would be in order and would show the human side of Tegloma.
3. Development of a program to assist farmers with simple tools like shovels, spades, hoes and wheelbarrows, and so on. I am advantaged to come from a region of the country where the indigenes, through hard work, are basically self sufficient. My people survive at a subsistence level however, and the provision of farming materials would go a long way to alleviate some of the obstacles they encounter in their day to day operations.
4. Providing school supplies for rural students: Pens and notebooks cost very little to us here in the United states and elsewhere in the diaspora, but access to these simple educational tools mean the difference between a life of illiteracy and the acquisition of basic education back home.

As a non profit an apolitical association that is geared towards the betterment of our people. It is now time to transcend rhetoric and limited ventures and pay serious attention to the progress of our localities. We all help our relatives back home, and commend those who have already instituted programs that have an impact outside their families. It is however time to be a serious NGO that would rival any other charitable NGO of foreign origin. We have the acumen, opportunity and financial means to substantially impact lives back home in Sierra Leone if only we can pool together whatever surplus resources we can garner. I hope to see all my Tegloma Siblings in Chicago and pray for a successful convention.