The Eliza Turner African Methodist Episcopal Church on Camp Johnson Road, over the weekend donated the amount of US$3,000 to the Sierra Leone Embassy in Monrovia for survivors of the recent environmental catastrophe in Freetown that left about 500 residents dead.
Alvin E. Attah, head Pastor of the church, said the gesture is aimed at identifying with the people of neighboring Sierra Leone, where there are many AME Churches that are part of the 14th Episcopal District in seven West African countries.
Presenting the money formally at the Sierra Leone Embassy, Mr. Attah said the 14th Episcopal District had already identified with the AME Church in Sierra Leone, so Eliza Turner AME Church in Monrovia decided to go a step further, noting that victims of the incident include people from other denominations and religions so this is the church’s own way of identifying with the Government of Sierra Leone “to let them know that when they are crying, we are also crying, when they are in need, we are also in need.”
Rev. Attah noted that the mission of the Church is not only to minister to the spiritual needs of people, but also to seen human kind as one big family therefore, we have come with the love of Jesus to our brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers”, he said.
In the early hours of Monday, August 14, 2017, Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone located in the 14th Episcopal District where E. Earl McCloud, Jr. presides as Bishop, was hit by heavy rain, followed by an unprecedented mudslides and massive flooding.
The area has suffered incredible devastation. To-date, more than four hundred (400) people have lost their lives, and over the next five (5) years it is anticipated that more bodies will wash up on the Atlantic shore from this human tragedy. Meanwhile, Head Chancery at the Sierra Leone Embassy here, Dr. Roseline I. Turay, thanked the church for coming to the aid of the people of Sierra Leone, assuring that the money will be forwarded to the Government of Sierra Leone through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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