On Monday, December 26, 2022, Boxing Day holiday, H.E. President Dr. Julius Maada Bio and First Lady Fatima Maada Bio celebrated their lunch with nearly 1,000 children at Bonthe Island, Southern Sierra Leone.

The First Family’s holiday gift to the kids of Bonthe Island included sharing a lunch. Miss Amina Maada Bio, the First Couple’s seven-year-old daughter, was observed assisting the organizers in distributing lunch to the other kids.

Before lunch was served, H.E. President Dr. Julius Maada Bio made a brief statement in which he expressed his delight at always being able to celebrate the holiday season with children because it was a time to be joyful. He claimed that his family’s decision to spend such happy days with the kids on the island was motivated by the innocence of children’s joy.

His Worship Layemin Joe Sandi, the mayor of Bonthe Island Municipality and a member of the planning committee for the lunch, stated that he had always known President Bio to be passionate about the well-being of children. He praised His Excellency for continually letting the Bonthe children know that Christmastime is a time when the president prioritizes them. President Maada Bio was urged by him to carry on that tradition.

In a similar vein, the First Family continued their now well-known habit of visiting hospitalized patients on the day before Christmas (Christmas Day). After attending the Christmas church service, President Bio and his wife went individually to give gifts to patients being treated at Bonthe Government Hospital. The First Couple emphasized that the purpose of their well-known annual hospital generosity was to provide ailing patients with the attention and love they required over the holiday season.