THE PROBLEM

ACCORDING TO UNICEF REPORT ABOUT EDUCATION
More than half of 15 year-olds and above (57%) are illiterate and half of those leaving primary school here in Sierra Leone are unable to read or write. The Government faces a number of ongoing systemic challenges. Teacher quality is wanting, Just 61% of primary school teachers are trained and, across the entire teaching workforce, nearly one third are unqualified and more than half are not on the government payroll.

These issues are compounded in rural areas where there are higher numbers of unqualified and volunteer teachers. The impact is reflected in low learning outcomes and poor exam results.

According to a study by UNFPA, 14,000 teenage girls became pregnant during Ebola and, in some communities, adolescent pregnancy increased up to 65%.When schools reopened, they were banned from returning under a GoSL directive preventing visibly pregnant girls from attending school or taking exams.

The lack of awareness in Falaba district on the importance of education and poverty coupled with gender, long distances to schools, families holding onto their cultural and traditional beliefs, marginalizing certain minority ethnic groups, discrimination, physical appearance to name but few are making things more impossible for majority of the children in this region to access quality education.

QUALITY EDUCATION – Sustainable Development Goal 4 ( SDG 4)

In 2019, of those students who sat exams, 76% passed the NPSE; 57% passed the BECE; and just 26% passed the WASSCE, of whom just 6% qualified for entry into degree programmes. Educational challenges have been exacerbated by external shocks. Even before Ebola, in 2013, 28% of girls aged 15–19 had already begun childbearing, leaving
Sierra Leone ranked 10th highest in the world for adolescent pregnancy, and nearly 3 out of every 10 girls out-of-school are excluded from education.

When Ebola hit and schools closed for nine months, adolescent pregnancy spiked and girls experienced higher dropout rates as a result of pregnancy, domestic violence, and sexual abuse.

1. This data also demonstrates the significant under-representation of girls at SSS level
   (GER of 54.5% for girls against 58.5% for boys; difference of 4%), compared to other
   levels where GER for girls is either at parity with or higher than boys.
2. District Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) JSS SSS
   1. Bo JSS => 87%    SSS => 60%
   2. Bombali JSS => 94%    SSS => 76%
   3. Bonthe JSS => 58%    SSS => 36%
   4. Falaba JSS => 31%    SSS=> 10% (Our target district)
   5. Kailahun JSS => 47%    SSS => 30% (Our target district)
   6. Kambia JSS => 75%    SSS => 40%
   7. Karene JSS => 60%    SSS=> 23%
   8. Kenema JSS => 85%    SSS => 65%
   9. Koinadugu JSS => 67%    SSS => 44%
   10. Kono JSS => 82%    SSS => 49%
   11. Moyamba JSS => 59%    SSS => 22%
   12. Port Loko JSS => 86%    SSS=> 45%
   13. Pujehun JSS => 30%    SSS => 10% (Our Traget District)
   14. Tonkolili JSS => 67%    SSS => 37%
   15. Western Area Rural JSS => 113%    SSS => 94%

THE SOLUTION

What we want to do.

1. Recruit 2000 marginalized adolescent mothers from economically disadvantaged background in Falaba district
2. Register them into Community Based Secondary Schools
3. Train them on accountability, roles of girls in nation development, Leadership roles (To prepare them for leadership positions and decision making in their communities’ leadership and country’s politics and even beyond)
4. After school, capacity building training based on their talent areas
5. Give them full academic support such as school materials and school charges
6. Provide them free mentorship program to prepare them to become leaders and entrepreneurs

PROJECT OUTCOME

In the next 10 years, YoMsuD–SL is looking forward to reduce the percentages highlighted earlier within the Falaba – Kailahun and Pujehun district and also ensure that the sustainable development goal 4 is achieved within these district and beyond by 95%.

Nevertheless , we want to see these beneficiaries partake in societal development and help change the mindset of the people that all children deserve a quality education either formally or informal.

BENEFICIARIES

1. School Drop outs
2. Teenage Mothers
3. Sexually Abused Adults
4. Disables
5. Pupils or Adults from Poor Financial Backgrounds

WHAT WE WANT

To undertake such project , YoMsuD – SL is looking to the following :

1. Donors
2. Partnership
3. Finance

PICTURES

 

THE PROBLEM

UN Secretary-General António Guterres considers the collision of gender inequality with the global climate crisis to be “the greatest sustainable development challenge” of our time. Addressing this challenge is especially important for fighting hunger, malnutrition and poverty in low-income countries.

According to the UN Women Africa, Women represent 70 percent of the agricultural labor force of Sierra Leone and they play an important role in natural resource management and food production.

THE SOLUTION

We want to give women equal access to farming resources, close the gender gap in access to digital technologies and data gap on women in agriculture, finally ensure that women farmers are equal partners in developing strategies for adapting to climate change.

PROJECT OUTCOME

ULTIMATE RESULTS

1. Reduced sufferings in rural communities experiencing acute poverty, food insecurity and economic instability due to climate change and gender inequality impacts.
2. Enhanced improved food, nutrition and economic security in food insecure rural communities.
3. Increased economic and human rights freedom of marginalized women,girls,boys and men
4. Enhanced nutrition rich foods availability all-round the year thereby ending malnourishment for under five children, women, girls and boys in Northern Sierra Leone.

INTERMEDIATE RSULTS

1. Increased use of business development and financial services by establishing micro enterprises after harvesting by the Smallholder women farmers.
2. Enhanced protection of the rights of the minorities, beneficiaries,marginalized boys,men, women and girls’ sexual exploitation and abuse in Northern Sierra Leone.
3. Enhanced natural resource management and conservation with sound environmental sustainability among the smallholder women farmers and their communities.

IMMEDIATE RESULTS

1. Increased ability of women smallholder farmers and health workers to address the nutrition challenges of women, children, men and less privileged 2. Improved knowledge of sustainable agricultural-production practices especially organic farming that is environmentally friendly among women smallholder farmers in five rural communities to foster communities’ climate change solutions and adaptability in Northern Sierra Leone.

TARGET BENEFICIARIES

Targeted groups are marginalized women, men, widows, orphans underrepresented groups, ethnic minorities, and those culturally and religiously discriminated.

WHAT WE ARE SEEKING

To undertake such project, YoMSuD – SL is looking to the following:

• Donors
• Partnership
• Finance

PICTURES

THE PROBLEM

According to Center for Disease Control Global Health Sierra Leone (CDC-SL) Sierra Leone has the highest maternal mortality rate in the world, and one of the highest mortality rates for children under five: out of 1,000 live births, over 13 mothers and 111 children under five die.

According to UNICEF, “The maternal mortality rate in Sierra Leone is the highest in the world with 1,360 mothers dying in every 100,000 live births. The mortality rates of neonates, infants and children under five are also amongst the highest globally at 34, 82, and 111 deaths per 1,000 live births, respectively. These staggering figures represent the real and pervasive challenges women and children face in Sierra Leone with poor healthcare practices and sub-standard and ill-equipped health care facilities.

Maternal deaths account for 36 per cent of all deaths amongst women aged 15-49 years. The leading direct causes of maternal mortality in Sierra Leone are:

1. obstetric hemorrhage (46 per cent)
2. hypertension (22 per cent)
3. obstructed labor (21 per cent) and
4. sepsis (11 per cent).

Causes of neonatal deaths are:

1. prematurity (30 per cent)
2. asphyxia (27 per cent)
3. sepsis (23 per cent)
4. pneumonia (7 per cent)
5. congenital (7 per cent) and
6. others (6 per cent).

Newborn conditions (29 per cent), malaria (20 per cent), acute respiratory infection (ARI) (12 per cent) and diarrheal diseases (10 per cent) are responsible for more than 70 percent of the under-five deaths. Many of these deaths are preventable if managed timely by skilled health providers”.

THE SOLUTION

To address this issue and prevent death among children under age five, we are providing free healthcare delivery services in partnership with health professionals to under five children and pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers in especially rural communities who are financially disadvantaged to see that the rate of maternal and infant mortality is reduced to 10%  in Sierra Leone.

PICTURES

THE PROBLEM

According to UNICEF in 2013, 28% of girls aged 15–19 had already begun childbearing, leaving Sierra Leone ranked 10th highest in the world for adolescent pregnancy, and nearly 3 out of every 10 girls out-of-school are excluded from education.When Ebola hit and schools closed for nine months, adolescent pregnancy spiked and girls experienced higher dropout rates as a result of pregnancy, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. According to a study by UNFPA, 14,000 teenage girls became pregnant during Ebola and, in some communities, adolescent pregnancy increased up to 65%.When schools reopened, they were banned from returning under a Government of Sierra Leone directive preventing visibly pregnant girls from attending school or taking exams.

THE SOLUTION

Our goal is to ‘Create access to social and economic opportunities towards empowering Women and Children.’ To achieve this goal, YoMSuD-SL works by mobilizing and recruiting women into self-help groups through which the women engage in various socio-economic activities and climate change mitigation and adaption strategies. As an organization, YoMSuD-SL believes that in order to reach the child, the woman as the custodian of the child has to be accessed first. The proposed project by YoMSuD-SL is championing for the empowerment of women by building their capacities and competencies. This will be achieved by conducting a three month period skills and entrepreneurship trainings which will equip them with the necessary skills and experience to manage their own businesses.

PROJECT OUTCOME

The project will empower them to be able to position themselves in strategic decision making processes that take place at varying levels in social, economic and political issues of the region and country as large. The project’s specific objectives are:

• To Increase the financial abilities of women to enable them purchase:
  • food for their families,
  • Educate their children (girl child focus),
  • Afford better health,
  • clothing and shelter for their children and
  • Reduce poverty and attain improved standards of living.
• This intervention has a self-protecting mechanism in dealing with conflict situations.

TARGET BENEFICIARIES

We are targeting marginalized women, adolescents (boys and girls), and Youth for them to become responsible adults in building sustainable Communities.

WHAT WE ARE SEEKING

To undertake such project, YoMSuD – SL is looking to the following:

• Donors
• Partnership
• Finance
• Experts Coaches  and Mentors

PICTURES