Noslina (Washington DC)
Kwame Fitzjohn
3 October 2008
October 2, 2008 — Speak of saving the best for last, on Monday, September 29, NOSLINA (the National Organization of Sierra Leoneans in North America) clearly hit a home run when in league with Boulle Corporation and the Corporate Council on Africa (a consortium of corporate giants such as Coca Cola, Exxon-Mobil and Microsoft that do business in Africa) they held a high level luncheon for Sierra Leone's President Ernest Koroma and members of his delegation at the prestigious Willard Hotel in Washington DC.
The Boulle-CCA-NOSLINA luncheon was the high point of the last day of President Koroma's visit to the United States, his first visit to the US as Head of State.
Spearheading the collaboration between CCA and NOSLINA and the subsequent high-level interaction with President Koroma and his delegation was NOSLINA's new Executive Director Ms. Suna Nallo with strong support from the Chairman of NOSLINA Board of Directors Professor Don Taylor.
The Monday luncheon was preceded on Sunday night September 28 by a Reception/Dinner hosted by NOSLINA at the exclusive International House located in the corridors of Embassy Row in Northwest Washington, DC.
The purpose of the dinner was to familiarize members of the President's delegation and Sierra Leone luminaries invited to attend the Boulle-CCA-NOSLINA luncheon with NOSLINA's role in the United States and Canada working to make the lives of Sierra Leoneans better everywhere. The NOSLINA dinner was attended by some members of the President's entourage, Sierra Leone Parliamentarians and Staff of the Sierra Leone Embassy in Washington as well as a cross section of leading Sierra Leonean entrepreneurs and professionals from around the United States including California, Georgia, South Carolina, New York, Maryland, and Washington DC.
President Koroma whose career path was rooted in the private sector felt at home at the Luncheon. He offered the assembled group of illustrious corporate leaders in the United States a solid appraisal of the potential for business opportunities in Sierra Leone and extended an open invitation to the US private sector to invest in Sierra Leone noting the several reforms that are ongoing to ensure stability, accountability, transparency, and the rule of law. Sierra Leone, President Koroma said, will do everything possible to ensure a fair environment for investors to have confidence to participate actively in the Sierra Leone economy. Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) President Stephen Hayes remarked that "US involvement in Sierra Leone has not been as extensive as we would like".
He encouraged business executives to take a stronger interest and role in the promise of working for the development of Sierra Leone. CCA President Hayes offered substantial thanks to NOSLINA for assisting with the Luncheon and indicated that the CCA will continue to intensify its relationship with NOSLINA as it seeks to build ties with the Sierra Leone community and its leaders in the United States.
NOSLINA pooled a galaxy of Diaspora Sierra Leone entrepreneur-luminaries to lunch with President Ernest Koroma and US Corporate super-execs. The NOSLINA guests included Construction business mogul Nigel Parkinson, top medical practitioner Dr. Radcliffe Thomas, Psychotherapy guru Fatu Songowa, pre-eminent Insurance Agent Clifford Sawyer, Business magnate and Atlanta-based florist Ansumana Bangura, leading promoter of alternative medical treatments Swami Gyankirti, Division Chief of the IMF Gemina Archer-Davies, and successful Entrepreneurs Sarian Bouma, Leon Folo Jacobs and Donald Eleady-Cole among many others. Several high profile members of President Koroma's delegation, including Finance Minister David Carew, Foreign Minister Zainab Bangura, Tourism and Culture Minister Hindolo Trye, and central Bank Governor Kamara struck an alliance with NOSLINA and encouraged ongoing collaboration. Ambassador Bockarie Stevens led the SL Embassy delegation at the Luncheon which was sponsored by Jean-Raymond Boulle Corporation.
It is believed that key members of President Koroma's delegation as well as te Corporate Council on Africa and Boulle Corporation are now poised to work collaboratively with NOSLINA to yield positive dividends for Sierra Leone.
To view NOSLINA ongoing programs in Sierra Leone, go to http://noslina.org/.
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