Hi Serry!
Here is a proposal, in response to your request:
MISSION STATEMENT:
Seeking a better future for our beloved Sierra Leone,
The Network will endeavor to conscientize all strata
of Sierra Leone society towards an awareness of what
is right and wrong for the motherland.
AIMS / OBJECTIVES:
Through public information campaigns, using an FM
radio station as a medium, the Network will serve as
an umbrella pressure group or civil society movement
that will target the following areas of Sierra Leone
society with suggestions for positive change:
1. National Unity-cognizant that we have just emerged
from a very destructive and divisive civil war; the
Network will promote a message of peace,
reconciliation, brotherhood and sisterhood among all
Sierra Leoneans during every phase of its public
service announcements.
2. Government
Performance-to serve as a watchdog of
the civil service and the entire bureaucratic system
of Sierra Leone (both public and international NGOs
present in the country) to ensure that corrupt
practices are pointed out, government wastage is
addressed, NGO duplication of function is curtailed
and practical development projects are undertaken
instead of long-term, overburdened "dream projects."
3. To combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country-the
Network shall include in its programs and public
service campaigns, the transmission of practical tips
aimed at the vulnerable population, like school-going
children, poor young girls etc. that will help them
avoid getting caught-up in situations where they can
contract the deadly disease.
4.To compel government ministries to do their jobs
without fear or favor. The Network will challenge
government ministers to come forward in weekly
press
conferences to give the nation a progress report of
their ministries and plans for future development in
addition to addressing any allegations of malpractice
that members of the public will come up with. The
President should also be encouraged to give a
state-of-the- nation address on a quarterly basis.
5. Poor people also have a tendency to exhibit
self-destructive habits that keep them poor like
giving birth to too many children, excessive
alcoholism and other social vices - Members of the
Network will be cognizant that Sierra Leone is a very
cultural society, however, our programs will try to
provide practical advice to help poor people manage
their lives and set themselves on the road to breaking
their cycle of poverty.
6. Following from the above- gender equality through
women's empowerment should be a big part of the
development agenda for any Third World country that
wants to
make progress. In this connection,the Network
will compel the Parliament of Sierra Leone to pass
several laws giving women the right to refuse to marry
proposed spouses that they do not like; the right to
divorce their husbands and the right to be
self-empoyed etc...(SOME WILL SAY I'M DREAMING
HERE...."NA SALONE"? E NOR POSSIBLE! ETC...BUT TRUST
ME, IT CAN BE DONE. IT ONLY TAKES THE POLITICAL WILL
OF A DEDICATED LEADER TO STOP ALL THE NONSENSE THAT IS
GOING ON IN THE NAME OF CULTURE IN OUR AFRICAN
SOCIETIES. THERE ARE NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF EXHIBITING
ONE'S CULTURE AND THERE ARE POSITIVE ASPECTS AS WELL.
WE EXHIBIT OUR CULTURE IN A MOSTLY NEGATIVE WAY AND
MOST OF OUR PRACTICES ARE GEARED TOWARDS KEEPING EACH
OTHER IN BONDAGE; KEEPING WOMEN AND POWERLESS PEOPLE
DOWNTRODDEN.DEVELOPMENT EXPERTS HAVE DONE REASEARCH
AND CONCLUDED THAT MOST COUNTRIES THAT ARE OVERLY
CULTURAL LIKE SOUTH-EAST ASIAN AND AFRICAN
COUNTRIES
ARE THE MOST BACKWARD IN THE WORLD.
7. In addition to the above, members of the Network
can devise a comprehensive program of daily radio
broadcasts that will point out everything that is
wrong with us a nation and what we can do to change
them. Examples include: government contracts going to
unscrupulous businessmen, especially foreign
businessmen that do not reinvest their profits in the
country; police not doing their jobs; city cleaners
not cleaning the streets; post office stealing
mail;port officials stealing cargo delivered at the
quays etc.....the list of ills goes on.
SHORT TERM GOALS:
1.To register the Network as a charity organization
with the U.S. government so that we can achieve
501(c), or so? status.
2. To set up a website with all our intentions boldy
stated and links to invite more people to join us. We
can also go to the old 'Salone News' website and get
all
the e-mails on there and invite as many people to
join us. THERE IS SAFETY AND STRENGHT IN
NUMBERS...although to many cooks will spoil the broth
as well. FORGIVE ME HERE I JUST DON'T LIKE PEOPLE WHO
NEVER FINISH SOMETHING GOOD THAT THEY START.
3.To get a radio station operational in Freetown
before the start of 2005 with paid staff etc. The
equipment, rent, generators, a vehicle etc. can be
paid out of members subscriptions .
LONG TERM GOALS:
Thereafter, the Network can diversify into acts of
charity and community services by those of us who go
for holidays. We can also organize so that on a yearly
basis Sierra Leonean doctors in the diaspora willing
to go home, for about two weeks, can do so and
administer free medical care to as many people as come
to designated centers while they are home.
We can also use currently established shipping
connections to ship old, disused items
back home to
those who need them.
******Another important longterm goal we can aim at,
when once we have achived credibility within the
country and internationally, is to monitor
international development news for any aid, grants,
loans given to Sierra Leone by countries, individuals,
or groups. We can then volunteer(afterall, we have
professional certified accountants with international
expericience in our midst a la Mr Kuyateh) who can
monitor these monies from A through Z and make sure
that they were spent on the purposes they were
intended for in addition to helping write a project
completion report.
ORGANISATION OF THE NETWORK:
1. The Network will be a non-partisan (meaning we will
not, together as an organization, support any
political party directly although as individuals we
will be free to align with whatever party we like);
non-ideological;non-ethnic, umbrella
organization open
to all well-intentioned and dedicated Sierra Leoneans
in the Diaspora and even at home.
BOARD MEMBERS:
The Network can possibly have a board of directors
that will be signatories to all expenditure accounts.
This Board of Directors can comprise of any
nationality that we can vouch is a well-meaning
individual. The Congressman from Ohio..is it Tony
Hall? could be on the board and we can have the
executive report to them.
THE EXECUTIVE:
This can comprise of elected members much along the
lines of appointment in any other major organizations
that we all belong to as individuals.
Writing a Constitution for an organization like
this does not also require much and, if original
members of the Network want, i can head a
constitutional committee that can come up with one in
a matter of weeks. I have several examples that i have
written as assignments
for my classes before.
FINALLY, I WILL WANT TO CLOSE THIS PROPOSAL BY
IMPLORING ALL OF US TO STICK TO THE CAUSE, OR AT LEAST
BE SINCERE ABOUT WHAT OUR PERSONAL DISABILITIES ARE IN
SEEING PROJECTS THROUGH. IF WE COLLECTIVELY SET OUR
MINDS TO DO SOMETHING TO HELP SIERRA LEONE, TRUST ME,
WE CAN DO IT. IT ONLY TAKES OUR PATIENCE AND
DEDICATION TO SEE THINGS THROUGH.
IF WE START AN ORGANIZATION LIKE THE NETWORK, WE
CAN CONTACT INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS LIKE
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH AND INFORM
THEM ABOUT OUR INTENTIONS SO THAT THEY CAN WATCH OUR
BACKS AND HELP US HIGHLIGHT MOST OF THE GOALS WE
OUTLINE FOR OURSELVES.
I WISH EVERYONE A GOOD DAY AND HOPE YOU CALL IN
TOMORROW NIGHT.
-Fodei Joseph Batty
--- mohamed serry <
serr...@yahoo.com> wrote: >
____________________________________________________________
Does your mail provider give you a free online calendar?
Yahoo! does. Get Yahoo! Mail
http://uk.mail.yahoo.com