By Mohamed Tarawallie
Smile Again Salone is a charitable
organization that has been in existence in Sierra Leone for the past five years.
The organization was formed in order to assist vulnerable people especially the
children having gone through some tribulations. According to the Secretary
General, Ansumana Kallon the setting up of the organization was initiated and
facilitated by one UK born Mark Spratley and a Sierra Leonean who goes by the
name Idrissa Mansaray, adding that they had thought it prudent to address the emerging
needs of deprived Sierra Leoneans and to restore smile on their faces. He said
it aim is to compliment government efforts in bringing livelihood to less
privilege Sierra Leoneans.
One of the founders of Smile Again Salone,
Mark Spratley said that Idrisa Mansaray and he came up with the plan to produce
an unprecedented musical concept for an annual charity concert named Smile
Again Salone. “It will be held at the Siaka Stevens Stadium in Freetown on
December 16th this year. We wish this event to get an A Grade
international format which will be broadcast able internationally in visual
form”, Mark asserted.
Mark furthered that ideas will be features of
Sierra Leone’s art and culture which includes interludes of singing, artists
(All Stars and KME), comedians and more, adding that multimedia projections on
various screens on the stage would be great. According to Mark, it is their
greatest honor to say that a percentage of the outcome will be donated to the
local communities and charity organizations and that whatever income raised
from the concert will be invested back in Sierra Leone in a form of building a
music studio and a theme park, which will benefit the people of Sierra Leone.
While responding to questions posed at him in
an interview with Radio Mercury’s Deej Real on the nation’s widely tuned-in
program, Ansumana maintained Smile Again Salone has caught up in several
projects since its formation, such projects he pointed out were the Ebola
scourge and that of the mudslide incident which occurred in August this year at
the Motormen Community in Regent.
Ansumana further revealed his organization is
yet to have sponsors as at now and that they are solely responsible to fund
their operations whilst looking forward for any individual or parastatals to
come on board and support them.
He disclosed his organization is about to
undertake its first big project on December 16th 2017 at the Siaka Stevens
Stadium.
He continued that the aim of staging the show is to use entertainment
as a means of creating livelihood and to bringing smiles on the faces of people
in order of them to forget about the past and hope for a better future. He maintained
the musical festival and a live band show will be the first that would cater
for everybody.
He affirmed that security will be tight and
that there is going to be eminent sound system come that day at the Siaka
Stevens Stadium thus encouraged all patriotic Sierra Leoneans to come out in
huge numbers in order to support this crucial show on December 16th,
he added cost of ticket is affordable, open stand 10,000, covered stand 20,000
and presidential stand is 100,000.
He assured Sierra Leoneans that proceeds made
from the show will go back to those who are less fortunate and the vulnerable
children in the country and also it will be use to erect an amusement park for
children in Sierra Leone.
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