BUCHANAN, Grand Bassa – A charity group, Janjay Village of Hope, has broken grounds to construct a health center in Harlandsville Township, New Buchanan.

The ground-breaking ceremony took place the past weekend in the presence of scores of citizens and the commissioner of the township, Ben Greeves.

According to the organization’s president, Magdalene Harris, the health center fulfills a need for citizens in the area to enhance their access to health services.

“I stand here because today is the beginning of a new day. It is a new beginning because it is the day and birth of a new health structure in the Harlandsville community and I stand with great excitement that this beginning is a stage where we will see a new trend of the health situation in this part of Grand Bassa,” she told the program attendees.

Harris said many rural women gave birth outside of health facility due to the lack of a nearby health facility. Additionally, she drew attention to children who die from minor sicknesses such as malaria, malnutrition, and diarrhea because of inadequate care.

“It is a joy for me to be here because when this structure is built, a pregnant woman will come here and have [a] safe delivery. It is a joy for me because when a motorcyclist [is] involved in an accident, he will come here and his wounds will be treated,” she added.

The foundation of the health center is nearly complete and workers were seen at the site. The ground floor of the building will contain the outpatient department, registration and records room, two screening areas, offices, an emergency room, a short stay area for both males and females, and an obstetrics section, according to Harris.

Upstairs, she said the building will contain a 150-person multipurpose conference hall, a counseling section, a mini-theatre for cesarean sections, along with other facilities.

“Life is valuable so there is a need to help in our own weak way as sons and daughters. We cannot wait on government alone, we have to help our people,” she told the gathering.

“We can only transform our community if each and every one of us can put hands together to work together. If we do not work together, then the community transformation that we are looking for cannot happen.”

Speaking at the program, the commissioner of Harlandsville Township, Greeves, thanked Janjay Village of Hope for the initiative. He said New Buchanan has over 3,000 residents and the lack of a health center has posed serious problems for the community.

Most residents, he said, usually travel to the Buchanan Government Hospital to access health care. However, he said the journey was cost prohibitive because of the cost of transportation.

Grand Bassa has 34 health facilities, including three hospitals and two health centers, namely the Liberian Government hospital, the Liberia Agricultural Company Hospital, and the ArcelorMittal Hospital. The health centers are the Catholic and Gorblee Health Centers. The rest are clinics across the county. Of the 34 health facilities, 25 are fully sponsored by the government while the rest are private facilities or run through a public-private partnership.

Featured by Sampson David