The Founder and President of the Dr. Cassell Foundation, now Vision Bearer of the People’s Liberation Party (PLP), Dr. Daniel E. Cassell, has come to the rescue of Lakay-ta Township, district #4, Margibi County, by constructing two bridges there—one at the entry and the other at the exit—in order to connect the town to nearby towns and villages and relieve the residents of literal imprisonment, especially during the rainy season.
The bridges, constructed by Dr. Cassell, were dedicated on Friday, February 26, 2021, and brought about a presidential-like welcome for the humanitarian, who single-handedly financed the projects.
En route to the town, the Hot Pepper was informed that the road leading to the town, after passing the Bong Mines road, was also graded by Dr. Cassell, and that before coming to the rescue of the township there was only a footpath into the township and no development project since its establishment in 1982.
The Hot Pepper observed that the township is in the middle of two rivers or creeks, and was told that during the rainy season these waters overflow and hinder the crossing into or out of the township, leaving the residents there stuck with or without food, and with or without perishable goods.
Dr. Cassell’s rousing welcome began from Kakata, where he was first received by youths and students, who brought his convoy to a standstill and appreciated him for his interventions in that county. Not going far, he was also stopped by a huge number of women along the Gibsons’ Farm, and on and on until he entered Lakay-ta Township.
Along the way, the Hot Pepper observed a number of projects being carried out by Dr. Cassell, including the construction of a modern market, hand pumps, a town hall, and a few number of buildings, alleged to be school buildings. Also, the people of the area appeared to have known Dr. Cassell for a long period of time due to their attitude and behavior. The stick-seats at the area where Dr. Cassell was hosted was said to be made by the women of Lakay-ta Township, calling themselves “Friends of Dr. Cassell”. Their presence dominated the program, as they were said to be over 600.
At the program marking the dedication of the bridges, the Town Chief of Lakay-ta, John Barwoe, welcomed Dr. Cassell and his entourage and Andrew Kweanuan performed the introduction of the program. The Township Commissioner, George Cooper, recognized the guests, and the PLP’s Vice Chair for Administration and Finance, Tapple Doe, gave a brief history of the projects.
In remarks, Dr. Cassell thanked the people of the area for the warm welcome, and noted, “Like everybody said before me, in particular the MC, there are plenty places around here I could have chosen to carry development, like the place where my ma and pa come from, Lofa County, or the place where my wife comes from, Grand Cape Mount County. But the thing about it is that I do not make my own decision; it is God who makes it for me. So wherever God sends me is where I go.”
Bringing hope to the residents, the PLP Vision Bearer said he has been a poor person whom the rich used to take advantage of before, and he knows what they were going through, but he has come to fight for the poor, marginalized, abandoned and disabled.
“This money thing that people are saying Dr. Cassell got money, da God who passed the money through me. The same God who gave it to me is the same God who’s telling me to use it this way. So when you hear some of my critics saying I’m the new ATM machine, and you people should come to me to chop your own…I look at them and laugh. I wonder why people would think like that. I’m not a politician; I have never worked in government before. My hands are clean—it never killed any human being before. I never went to the dark world to get my money. I believe in the Most High, and He is the One who has blessed me, and no other; therefore, my blessing is sustained. People who go to the dark world for money can’t do anything good with it, because the devil got no free gift. Look at the ones who can kill people for positions (government positions), see how they end up—they end up miserably; they die like dogs,” Dr. Cassell blasted.
He used the occasion to call on the religious organizations, the Christians and Muslims, to join hands in praying, so that God can ascend to the throne of the nation a spiritual leader who will understand what it means to relate to another human being; what it means to help another human being; and what it means to come to the aid of a suffering person. “What I do is my Biblical responsibility—to take care of the poor, the less fortunate, the widow, the homeless and disabled,” he noted.