Beyond Peacekeeping: UNMILs Bangladesh Contingent Facelifts Road in Bong County
Gbarnga, Bong County - Abandoning his A.K 47 for a rather peculiar task, Col. Mah BuB, Commander of Ban Engineer 18, who led an array of under- military men to repair the ruined Gbarnga-Ganta highway, felt fulfilled after a hard days work.
It was a truly remarkable undertaking which attracted the attention of county and local officials.
The ongoing road rehabilitation by the Bangladesh contingent accompanied the peacekeepers avowed intention to impact the life of the ordinary citizens in the county through their presence.
Recently, members of Ban-Log 19 completed two-months of intensive Computer training for thirty residents of Sergeant Kollie Town in Suakoko District.
Potholes in recent weeks have resulted to the deaths of many. Life is an important tool that should not be taken away in this manner, says Mah BuB.
Mah BuB told a gathering comprising onlookers from surrounding communities that the gesture is an illustration that peacekeepers are loving and caring people.
Mah hopes their presence in Bong will strengthen the mutual ties existing between Liberian and Bangladesh, adding: We are one people despite the race. Our being in Liberia to assist in the restoration of Peace justifies how resolved Bangladesh is shaping Liberias fragile democracy.
Drivers who ply the Monrovia-Ganta highway lauded the peacekeepers for the step and said it was a justification of their love for the people of Liberia.
Samuel Jackson, 65, whose career spans for twenty-three years, upon arrival on a scene of a paved road said he was stunned by the noticeable differences he had observed.
Said Jackson: For long I had been using this route from Monrovia to Ganta, but have never experienced such a change despite previous effort by community leaders.
Impressed by the paved road dedicated by members of the Bangladesh Army serving in UNMIL, Bong County Superintendent Selena Poson-Mappay said the road rehabilitation should serve as a lesson for Liberians who are yet to adopt a culture of shouldering responsibilities unless government intervenes.
Said Poson-Mappay: To clean our backyards, we call on government. When are we going to develop a sense of patriotism in our hearts to transform into a developed state void of external intervention.
Superintendent Mappay called on her kinsmen to begin a campaign to make Gbarnga and its surrounding acceptable for human habitat.
Earlier this week, a similar gesture was extended to residents of Suakoko District in caterpillar operation. Incredibly, the initiative has also claimed the involvement of those in their 70s.