Where We Work

 

Sierra Leone is a country the size of South Carolina with a population of around 6 million on the coast of West Africa. It is tropical, mountainous, and rich in minerals – diamonds, gold, titanium, and others. Sierra Leoneans are of many tribes – Kono, Mende, Temne, Limba, Mandinko, and others – and most people are Christian or Muslim. The country gained its independence from Britain in 1961 after around 150 years of colonial rule. Sierra Leone’s ten-year civil war, which ended in 2002, displaced millions of people and destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure. SOSL’s two schools are in Bongema, a village close to Koidu, the capital of Kono District. Kono is a diamond-rich district in the Eastern region of Sierra Leone. Because of its mineral wealth, the region suffered devastation during the war – its population was reduced from 600,000 to about 450,000 today. The mines still operate and employ many people in the area, but the region remains devastatingly poor and neglected. Koidu is about 275 miles from the capital city, Freetown, but only half of the road is paved and the journey takes up to ten hours by vehicle.

Today, in Sierra Leone, the average individual over the age of 25 has received less than three years of schooling. The typical junior high school classroom is filled with approximately 54 students and, as a result of extreme overcrowding, may implement a “shift system,” educating children in two rotations with each group receiving instruction for only one-half of the day. Between Sierra Leone’s civil war and the recent Ebola outbreak, the country now confronts an immense shortage of teachers. The Sierra Leonean government will need to increase capacity by 54% to achieve the goal of universal primary school education in the country.

Our Past Successes

Microloans 
  • Partnered with Salone Microfinance Trust (SMT – salonemicrofinancetrust.org) and secured over $600,000 in funding.
  • Dispersed over 7,000 loans to recipients who created or expanded businesses to generate income for themselves and their families.
  • Expanded SMT into the area of Waterloo, creating access to loans for a previously unserved group of clients.
  • SMT is now one of the leading microfinance institutions in the country with 10 branches, including Kono.
Waves for Water 
  • Raised $10,000 which brought Waves 4 Water to Sierra Leone with 100 filters and bucket systems. Each filter can deliver up to one million gallons of water, cleaned to higher standards than typical bottled water.
  • Added a 5,000 liter water storage tank and rain gutters to our flagship Muddy Lotus Primary School. Rainy season is long and heavy in Sierra Leone, and with the rainwater harvesting system, our school and community gains access to a brand new source for clean water!
  • In November 2013, Waves For Water returned to Sierra Leone, adding three more 5,000 liter water storage tanks in our community, trained and distributed an additional 150 filter and bucket systems, and oversaw the restoration of water wells at the schools and villages.
Digital Unify Computer Literacy
  • Partnered with and funded by the ST Foundation (stfoundation.org), SOSL created the first private sector/NGO partnership to build and manage 8 computer centers throughout Sierra Leone.
  • Currently provides free computer training to students and community members.
  • Since its launch in 2009, the SOSL Digital Unify Program has trained over 20,000 individuals in basic computer skills.
  • Shine On Sierra Leone seeded the DUCL Program that was ultimately gifted to another organization to grow.
Maternal & Child Healthcare
  • Partnered with the First Lady of Sierra Leone and Wellbody Alliance (wellbodyalliance.org) and secured $175,000 to launch a Maternal and Child Healthcare Program in the Kono District.
  • Trained traditional birthing attendants, the women who have been attending births for generations, to become Community Healthcare Workers (CHW).
  • Also trained CHW in peripheral medical skills, including taking blood pressure, administering pregnancy tests, weighing and using a picture-based manual that successfully directs the CHW to usher women and children to hospitals when necessary to provide them with immediate care.
  • Provided service to more than 50,000 women and children since its inception
  • Partnered with Operation USA (opusa.org) to send 2 50-ft containers of medical supplies to Sierra Leone in 2013 to be disbursed to our partner health clinics.
Our Ebola Response
  •  Partnered with the Kono District Health Management team to launch a 3-day lock down and contact tracing initiative that resulted in zero transmitted cases during the outbreak
  • Partnered with Dr. Dan Kelly and trained 50 Community Healthcare Workers to assist with the Path to End Ebola strategy
  • Distributed 800 sanitation stations throughout Bongema village, equipped with a veronica bucket and soap
  • Distributed 320 sanitation kits to decontaminated homes to ensure they would remain virus free after the outbreak
  • Distributed 150 Home Healthcare Kits equipped with sanitation materials, PPEs, medicine and food to affected and impacted households
  • Served 7680 individuals (3767 children, 3913 adults) and reported ZERO deaths in the homes it assisted during its intervention phases at the height of the outbreak

(Please contact us for more information on our Path to Ending Ebola Strategy and Response from September 2014-February 2015)