Patriots For Development, One People, One Nation

Child sponsorship

In Sierra Leone, various factors could be counted on as a recipe that triggered the state of our children for been orphaned, extremely deprived, abandoned, or separated from their families. For instance, the past prolonged civil war left vacuums and people homeless and children isolated from their families,some without. Coupled with other disadvantaged situations, many children lack proper food, clothing, shelter and fees for education and proper health care. For these children, absolute assistance would be beneficial in order to ensure that the child can be educated and grow to become a responsible and self-sufficient adult.
Being one of our core mandates and a call for concern, we seek to make available related opportunities to these extremely deprived children in helping them achieve necessities of life . Over the years,members have been able to provide support to children in some communities. Our support for children have ranged from psychosocial counselling, foster care and adoption, education, health care, quality care support including food and wears and also support to some care givers who look over them.
Some of the children we support are opened to foster care support and adoption. Over the years we strongly recognised the significant support from adopted parents towards the welfare of some of these children. Their intervention have created positive impact in helping these children be able to achieve a better future.
We hope to continually provide opportunities for these children that would make them self-reliant and sustainable only if there is available resources

Support to disabled

Providing support to disabled is also one of our organization’s quests. So far we have affected the lives of 150 disabled people within (Freetown and other communities. Our prime motive is to enable them overcome the challenges of life more effectively. Education/skills training, micro-financing support, food supply, handicapped support materials (crutch, wheel chairs, hand and leg braces (Assistive Devices) etc), wears are all aspects of supports we render to these deprived and disabled category of persons. We really hope to extend our support to many more that are still in dire need, when resources but because of the limited resources are available.

Volunteer Service

We look for volunteers and interns with an open mind, a willingness to learn, and adaptability. We always provide basic information support, detailed program guide and cultural education. This ensures the best possible experience for both you and your host community. The volunteers we have worked with (local and international) really proved well and contributed meaningfully to our course with other extra community duties.
There is a dire need to improve social and living conditions in the geographic regions in Sierra Leone where we work. You will be meaningfully engaged in issues including HIV/AIDS, Education, Governance, Social Work, Health, Children’s Rights, solutions to impede the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM,) Gender Equality and the Environment. As we facilitate your area of placement with our organization, you will have a direct positive impact on the community you are working with. Participants donate many hours of valuable work. In addition, the cultural exchange that results from a placement enables the sharing of unique ideas and ways of life. By giving your time, energy, and talents, you will make major contributions to the communities in which you work.

Support to Pandemic affected persons

Our organization also joined in the fight against pandemics. In recent times targeted youths through sports campaign by organising football matches to spread awareness in the fight against covid pandemic and vaccination.
Many people have been affected directly or indirectly by the pandemics both Ebola and Covid and its impact is far beyond human survival in rural and remote settings.

The need for intervention cannot be exaggerated. Government interventions are still inadequate. Private partnership is still needed to support government interventions.

Foster Care and Adoption

Sierra Leone after the war faced with numerous terrifying situations regarding the wellbeing of children, especially those in remote areas who faced completely deplorable conditions.Compounded also with the high cost of living and high rate of unemployment.

Sierra Patriots Sierra Leone believes that the overriding principle in child welfare policy is in the seek genuine interest and help their growth and development The love, care and training that a child receives in their families are more extreme than elsewhere. Children, whiles separated off their biological families, nevertheless are still in need of a permanent family that would step in and fill in the gap that would allow them to grow into decent upbringing and livelihood standards. If an extended family system is not an option, the next priority becomes care by non-relatives in the form of foster care and adoption. In this case, adoption is one possibility that can allow a less fortunate child to settle into a second family with a structure that is also vitally needed for a child’s health and wellbeing. It is the belief of Sierra Patriots , institutional care should only be used as a last resort for extremely deprived children.
Based on the above foundation established, the goal of Sierra Patriots Sierra Leone is to work with the Sierra Leonean government, Legal offices, Embassies, NGOs, INGOs, Missions and Agencies for the welfare of orphaned infants or children who are in immediate need of intensive living care, and who need a long-term plan involving permanent placement in an adopted family for their best future. Sierra Patriots Sierra Leone considers long-term institutional care as last resort and prefers to assist children through temporary, transitional care whiles at the same time developing a plan for a permanent and loving family environment in which they will grow and flourish or place them in orphanages. Infants or children accepted into care are being placed in temporary foster homes and given some financial support necessary to provide all the necessary food, clothing, shelter, medical care, love and nurture necessary to ensure their survival and growth. Efforts will be focused on promoting national and international adoption for those children who will best be helped through adoption.

Youth Empowerment

Increasing life’s demand with better options for deprived youths is also embedded in our organization’s effort in seeking conducive opportunities for less privileged persons. Because they carry a huge percentage of the world’s population (70%), in Sierra Leone 60 % or more fall in youth category, our organization strive for simple, realistic and transparent measures in providing life changing solutions to youths that are in dire need of help owing to this fact, our effort has been tremendous so far in positively impacting the lives of some deprived youths in Sierra Leone. Presently because of limited resources our engagements are limited. The burning desire to do more is unending. We strongly believe that youths are the ambassadors of positive societal changes and their problems are incremental and warrants special attention. Thus, we hope to impact the conditions of many more in diverse communities once we tap into available opportunities.

Education/skills training, agricultural supports, support to start small business are all strategic measures we have employed in making sure that we fully empower them to be productive assets in society.

Furthermore, we would extend to other communities once we tap into other available resources.

Campaign against female genital mutilation

Our organization is a party to ending this practice. now a global consent widely evaluated, our strategy has been very communal and respectful rather than insulting. It is a reason and consensus approach not affecting peoples beliefs or cultures by providing viable solutions for deprived community and its looking at health, safety and freedom. Thus, we have edged proactive campaigns in this direction. The impact is positive but not without challenges. We have embarked on community mobilization and one on one educative programs that would better inform people the reason why they shouldn’t participate.
Ideally, to further enhance this campaign and access more communities with perfect informative programs, we would need like minded organisations to join us and an make the campaign on going and results progressive.
So far we have been to run FGM campaigns in 25 communities.

Women empowerment

Women’s empowerment is a core consideration of our organizational target.We are supportive of recent legislation projecting a 30% quota for women in governance and we equally support more and no limit or discrimination to representation.

Sierra Patriots will like to focus mainly on women in rural areas and deprived communities, who feel neglected and sometimes deprived of opportunities and rural settings do not give them voice to participate or access to resources, freedom of movement land rights and community decisions. We realized that mostly once they become ineffective in generating income, making decisions, they are side-lined in community engagements and development and income generating activities. A lot of factors have led to increase in poor women’s condition ranging from single parenting, lack of education/skill training and lack of financial support. Over the years members have supported various female groups, on rural community Adult Literacy programs.community sensitization on Covid Pandemic and the need for vaccination.

Women Taking the Lead

Madam Zainab Munu Daramy -Honorary Member Sierra Patriots and founder of Tambomnya(for Women) has also contributed in the formation of notable, 90% farmers organisataion-Tambonya meaning in a local dialect for women, was sponsored by the United States Government -via American Ambassador grant in Sierra Leone, for Cassava and Garri Processing in Sanda Tendarren Chiefdom-Mateboi Township.

Madam Zainab Y Bangura

Regional cordinator,Northern Province-Sierra Patriots.Madam Zainab is engaged in the establishment of a rural community rice farming project called- The Krugbah Agricultural community Feed the Hungry project in Malama Township, Karene District,Sierra Leone.Registered with the Government of Sierra Leone.

Madam Isatu Conteh,

Organising Secretary Sierra Patriots, runs a Tech Vocational Institute,named, Essence Technical Vocational institute recognised by the Ministry of education has catered for over a thousand female students over the years in Freetown and now intends to establish a branch for Sierra Patriots in rural remote areas with availability of funds.

Madam Adama

Treasurer, Sierra Patriots, runs a tailoring institute for women and has trained over 100 and still training more at the Hill station community.

Mrs Isatu Timbo

A social worker, helps in mentoring, providing educational aid and parenting for some children from poor families.

Others

We have dedicated women in Sierra Patriots helping in training, mentoring and giving back to society.

We have also created workshops, trainings and seminars for women on employment, usage of agricultural tools and machinery, entrepreneurship ,social awareness, governance and human rights.
Obviously, there are many deprived women in need of support, just can’t do enough. But we still remain passionate about giving them support, once our resource base improves, we hope to affect the lives of many more in need of help.

Women have limited role and opportunities in Sierra Leone.

Sierra patriots believes women are integral partners in society ,who are capable of making significant contributions in nation building.

Water and Sanitation

Sierra Leone is faced with serious humanitarian crisis during the ten years of civil war, where lives, personal properties and social infrastructures like health facilities, schools and water and sanitation facilities were discriminately destroyed. Water and sanitation facilities within the country are extremely poor and are grossly inadequate for a living status of a larger population. The estimation of Sierra Leone population access to safe water is less than 30% and to sanitation less than 10%. Sierra Leone is still beset by infectious diseases including tetanus, typhoid, diarrhoea, cholera and the worst of it all Ebola that has led to several deaths. This inadequacy and lack of proper care has posed dwindling impacts among vulnerable people.
Our organization is very much concerned about this poor living condition and intends to foster low cost technologies to make available water and environmental sanitation facilities to the population. Increased community participation in program activities will be promoted where community members will be trained to manage their facilities. Hundreds of wells and hand pumps constructed 5 – 12 years ago are damaged and needs repairs instead of constructing new ones. Chlorination activities of both non-traditional and traditional water sources will be vigorously pursued with the training of well owners and Blue Flag Volunteers to prevent outbreak of diarrhoea diseases.
In an effort to achieve the above measures, Sierra Patriots is ready to work in cooperation with NGOs, networks, foundations and volunteers to increase access to safe drinking water supply in selected communities, schools and Public Health Units in the rural poor unnoticed; provide access to proper hygiene and sanitation facilities within communities in the selected environments; promote positive hygiene practices to enhance healthy lifestyles especially in institutions and poor health underdeveloped communities; and prevent the incidence of water burn and transmitted diseases.
For us to achieve and continue to implement proper water and sanitation measures, we ought to be attaining the following: Construction materials for wells, submersible pumps, generators and pumps with accessories, equipment and machinery; GI and PVC pipes, fittings and accessories; Manufacturing of low-cost hand pumps for communities; Capacity Building and training of hand pump mechanics, School teachers, Youths, Community members etc; Construction of low cost latrines; Social Mobilization; Chlorine powder, Water Quality Monitoring System and Chlorination; Develop community framework, undertake comprehensive assessment and; Technical assistance and consultancies.

Nutrition

The widespread nature of malnutrition in the whole country is a manifestation of prolonged deprivations in access to adequate food, health, safe water and sanitation facilities, and inability of an estimated 80% of households, particularly women, to provide appropriate care to their children within the context of a complex emergency. While the health, water and sanitation sectors continue to grapple with high incidences of diarrhoea, measles and acute respiratory infections which contribute to malnutrition; the food situation has remained precarious. Most households directly or indirectly affected by the war have been exposed to the risk of inability to access quality food through difficult means. The minimum wage of those who have been lucky to retain their jobs, meets only 36% of the staple food bills, and most farmers have had to consume their seed stock.
Anaemia in pregnancy is a problem for women. Many nursing mothers are experiencing lactation failure. Sierra Patriots have been working with partners to set up a wet feeding centre for malnourished children and provide such feeds at strategic centres in communities that lacks food supplies; introduce gardening, food processing and income generating activities in communities on household food security promotion efforts, reduce the prevalence of moderate and severe malnutrition in children in high-risk communities through community based nutrition education. Sierra Patriots expected outputs are the reduction of risks of mortality from diarrhoea, measles and acute respiratory infections through Vitamin A supplementation, risks of malnutrition and improve nutrition status of lactating and pregnant women and children.
This still remains an integral part of survival in our country as still not many people can sufficiently address issues relating to this. Majority of Sierra Leoneans are in serious depth in meeting the demands of eating decent meals. It is not an issue to compromise with health wise as it tells on them greatly. The nutritious food limited to cater for our beneficiaries. Hence the need for expansion and availability of funds is necessary to address these problems.

Needs:
• Nutrition equipment
• Nutrition supplies
• Food and Nutrition Material production and training of community health workers
• Food production and processing weaning recipes
• Micro-credits to women including female youths groups
• Community Animation/Social Mobilization
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Logistics and Project Support