As we commemorate the last Friday of Ramadhan 1442 Hijri, which corresponds to 2021 in the Gregorian calendar, we should reflect on the odyssey we have had to endure in the fight against the pandemic which reared its ugly head last year and has been ravaging our numbers ever since.
But Alhamdulillah we are still here, carrying on the fight and triumphing over the contagion because our hope endures even where our strength falters.
The credit belongs to Allah who bestowed upon us special qualities which armed us with all the ammunition required to fight and win this war against a disease like no other before.
Our virtues and our strengths, some of which we never knew we possessed then shone to the surface and saved the day.
We proved to be as resilient as diamonds and our unity for the first time proved to be durable like a granite block.
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But perhaps the most devastating blow we dealt the pandemic was the overwhelming numbers who joined in the fight against the Covid-19 virus: Private sector, civil society, interfaith groups, eminent Mombasa businessmen and volunteers, all enlisted.
There were no forced conscriptions or conscientious objections as we all came together to join the Mombasa County Emergency and Nutritional Support Program which aimed at cushioning the vulnerable against adverse effects of the disease.
And it is a war we are still waging albeit with varying degrees of success as the virus keeps mutating into different, ever more difficult to treat strains.
However, it does not matter to us how virulent the disease becomes as we have each other to count on and we will triumph just like before because of our unity.
Neighbours came together as strangers lent supportive hands to each other.
And since we believe COVID-19 to be divine will, we are assured by faith it is just a test that we can beat by mending the fractured seams within our unity.
We may have the vaccine but our compliance to the preventive measures should be our strongest containment weapon.
It is on that note that we take this opportunity to sincerely thank The private Sector Alliance, the frontline medical personnel who risked all to give relief to the suffering, and all who participate and continue to support efforts to save the community.
We were privileged to donate to over 200,000 families across Mombasa making county 001 the model to be emulated.
The distinction belongs not only to the office of the governor but also, all residents of Mombasa, everyone across the globe who contributed to this noble effort including the 7000 volunteers who enlisted hours after we set up a portal asking the youth for their contribution, the mama who delivered two boxes of biscuits, reminding all that the size of the donation does not make as much difference as the size of the heart giving, the county staff who fell into their coordinating assignments with gusto and enthusiasm and all who complied with the lockdown and with discipline and humility received our care packs.
