By Emmanuel Mafelah, mafelahemmanuel29@gmail.com
GBARNGA, Liberia- Residents of Gbenequelleh and its surrounding towns and villages in the Central Bong County electoral district #2 have extended appreciation to Vice President, Jewel Howard Taylor for the construction of the Gbenequelleh clinic.
They said the project has brought total relief to their community. The project was initiated by Madam Taylor in 2013 when she was serving as Senator of Bong county.
This brings to two the number of healthcare facilities done by Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor in Bong County since her ascendency in 2018. The first was in 2019 when she official dedicated and turned over to the Ministry of Health the Sekou Toure Health Center in Jorwah, Panta District.
In separates interview with News Public Trust Thursday, October 6, 2022, the inhabitants indicated that the Clinic will help ease some of the health crisis they continue to experience for decades, especially maternal and infant deaths among others in the County.
Martha Kermue, age 29, a resident of Gbenequelleh town said, “Now that our clinic has been open, meaning that we can go there for treatments, I am grateful to our ma, Jewel Howard Taylor.
Some of us don’t have money to go from here to C. B. Dunbar hospital in Gbarnga or Phebe hospital in Suskoko district, we cannot afford paying that plenty money on transportation”.
“For me, I just want to be thankful to our daughter for living up to her promised. Our women and children can just walk for few minutes to the clinic for treatments, not worrying about what they will pay to motorcyclists, “Moses Flomo, age 49 told journalists.
Bong County Health Officer, Dr. Cynthia Blapooh speaking at the official opening of the Gbenequelleh clinic on Saturday, October 1, 2022
Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. Blapooh applauded Vice President Taylor for the efforts applied in making sure that the clinic was completed and turn over to the public.
She also told the citizens that their long-awaited clinic is now ready to cater to their healthcare needs in Gbenequelleh Town and its surrounding towns and villages with quality healthcare services.
Dr. Blapooh revealed that through the efforts of Vice President Taylor they were able to get seventy-five thousand United States Dollars (US$75,000) to join start the operation of the health center, an amount, she said were used to purchase some medical equipment and essential drugs for the clinic.
The Bong County Health Officer also informed the citizens that 9 health workers have already been assigned to the clinic.
Meanwhile, local leaders including the ordinary citizens in the area have been urged to take ownership of the clinic by helping nurses assigned to the public facility with food and non-food items as a means of encouraging the health caregivers to do more for the community.