The Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Plan International-Sierra Leone that is geared toward partnering to address common challenges in their respective works.

Delivering a statement at the official signing ceremony at the conference hall of the ministry, Minister Moijueh Kaikai said the signing ceremony represented a glorious moment in his tenure as political head of the ministry. He promised that the ministry would ensure its partnership with Plan International achieve the expected goals of the MoU, as espoused in the work plan.

He recalled that the National Training Centre for Social Workers located in Bo, southern Sierra Leone, was completely vandalized and has not been functioning since the return of peace. He disclosed that part of the signed MoU would entail the rehabilitation of the centre and rendering it functional once again.

Mr. Kaikai noted that there are only 65 social workers in Sierra Leone, which reason he said is responsible for the ministry's less than satisfactory performance in tackling prevalent social and gender-based issues in the country.

He added that the intervention of Plan International would involve the training of more social workers that will be deployed across the country.

"As political head of this ministry, I will make sure that every single plan in the MoU is implemented," he promised.

On his part, the Country Director of Plan International, Augustine A. Allieu, said signing the MoU with the ministry marked a special day in their continued advocacy on children and gender issues. He observed that since Plan International started operations in the country, they have embarked on several projects, including education, health and gender.

He said it is well known to everybody that the ministry is responsible for the welfare of children in the country, the reason he said they decided to collaborate with them in addressing numerous issues children in the country have to contend with almost on a daily basis.

"With the signing of the MoU each year, Plan and the ministry hold a meeting to discuss the way forward for the welfare of the children," Allieu said, adding that within the next 12 months, Plan will establish a child help line to accelerate the dissemination of information relating to child rights issues, and to enhance the capacity of the ministry as a depository for information on children's issues.