By: Anthony Q. Jiffan, Jr.
Liberia’s first female Vice President, Chief Dr. Jewel Howard Taylor has been compassionate with the fate of ordinary Liberians especially during this COVID-19 crisis. She has done it again by distributing assorted items to the people of the Sophie Community where presented a 25kg bag of rice, a hand washing bucket and chloride, soap, Dettol, and hand sanitizer to each family head as a way of identifying with the community in the fight against the Corona virus.
She made the distribution on Saturday, April 4, 2020 when she toured the Sophie Community where she also resides. The Vice President’s move, it was said, was obviously to engender a community-based approach of combating the deadly coronavirus in Liberia.
The Coronavirus otherwise referred to as COVID-19 has been a raging pandemic in the world, which has been engaged using multiple approaches to combat it around the globe.
Vice President Taylor told the community residents in particular and Liberians at large to take seriously every preventive measure instituted by the Liberian government through the Ministry of Health and the National Public Health Institute of Liberia to prevent the further spread of the Coronavirus in the country.
Madam Vice President said it requires the involvement of everyone in observing health protocols, if Liberia should curb the further spread of the virus.
According to VP Howard-Taylor, Liberians should consider the extent to which the coronavirus overwhelms countries that have better and even more resilient health systems than Liberia to apply seriousness in upholding the basic health protocols set aside and pronounced by the government to contain the pandemic.
The Vice President, creating awareness, disclosed to the community dwellers that such countries as China, United States of America, Italy, Spain and others have better and advanced health care systems than Liberia but are yet overwhelmed by the virus, saying that it behooves Liberians to practice the hand hygiene – meaning handwashing and other protocols to contain the virus, since the country’s health system is not advance enough to handle every threat posed by the COVID-19 Pandemic.
According to Chief Dr. Taylor, the quantity of what she presented should not be considered, but said the focus of the intervention is to widen the awareness in the communities, noting that the safety of Liberians matters to her greatly.
She advised the community dwellers to place the hand washing buckets to areas that will be accessible to people who will be entering their homes and community.
Responding to the distribution and message of awareness on threat posed by the deadly COVID-19 Pandemic by the Vice President, Sophie Community Chairman Koiyan Massawala, commended VP Howard Taylor on behalf of the Sophie community. Mr. Massawala said reaching out to them at this time of need is a welcome gesture. He spoke about the danger of the COVID-19, and said the virus has posed a global threat which makes it imperative for the resident of the community to be in compliance to upholding health tips provided by government.
He said Vice President Howard Taylor has always made efforts to reach out to their community in time of need to give assistance, saying that she has always played her motherly role in communities and across the country.
Buttressing their chairman’s commendation of Madam Taylor, several community dwellers, who received the gesture from Vice President Howard-Taylor thanked her for what they termed, “restoring hope to a perishing people.” The citizens said such initiative by the VP is not the first of its kind, and added that they are not therefore surprised by the gesture.