Change Lives in Sierra Leone!

Kusheh usay Makeni, Sierra Leone! 

 It is a pleasure to write an update on behalf of the Sierra Cares Foundation in Makeni, Sierra Leone. Our children in the Makeni School were happy to get back to school and get back to normalcy.  They are still finishing their courses for the 2021-2022 school year and doing well!  Please check out our sponsor page to learn about the kids that need monthly sponsors to help with nutrition and educational needs.  School Sponsorships | Sierra Cares Foundation 

 Since 2020, Sierra Cares Foundation has served to repatriate women back from the Middle East and support students in our Makeni School.  We are working hard to partner with sister organizations to provide complex and complete resources, mental health, education and job training and opportunities for sustainable healing and communities.

SCF Staff

 We started our business micro loan program for eligible women to continue to help them have a sustainable living and reduce their vulnerability to human trafficking and poverty.  Since February, we have provided 12 women with business loans to help them provide for their families and stay in their communities free from exploitation.  We are so proud of the women who have been enrolled in trade schools to learn trades such as sewing, tie dying garments, shoe repair, baking and other endeavors to help them create a business.  In turn, they help each other with the goal of supporting each other to have a sustainable business and make a living.  We are looking to purchase sewing machines to have in our community center for merchants to use so they do not have to travel as far.  

We have begun to build the SCF Community Center, and it is slated for completion in August/September.  The community center is greatly needed to run our educational and therapeutic programs for the survivors of human trafficking that have been repatriated back to Makeni and surrounding areas.  We will offer space for education, such as our literacy program which will help participants learn to read, write, and even understand business documents.  This is a crucial component to our programs and will allow our women to stand on their own and succeed.  We hired a new teacher who will devote full time attention to our participants.  We also will offer other educational courses such as hygiene, making sanitary pads, body health and other facets that contribute to improved medical and physical health. We will also be able to have a medical practitioner there monthly to assist in medical needs, medications, and maternity needs.  In addition, the community center will offer refuge for mental health counseling and a safe space for women and children to come together to celebrate life experiences.  

In addition to the Community Center, we are excited to announce that we are also constructing a bakery for women in our program to learn a baking and culinary skills, to sell goods for their businesses and also teach health and nutritional courses.  This is something that is also needed in the Makeni Community, as they do not have a commercial bakery, and will also allow for our repatriated women to feel a sense of worth and community as they integrate back from their exploitative experiences.  This is also a critical step to ending the potential for other vulnerable women to be sent to work in situations of exploitation.  The bakery is set to open at the end of the summer as well. 

None of this is possible without the support of donors and partnerships with other organizations.  We are excited to continue to build a strong program in Makeni that focuses on strengthening vulnerable populations and allowing them to thrive through education, mental and physical health support, and job training.

As always, Sierra Cares Foundation does not take any donor fees to cover costs and all work is done by volunteers, so that donor money can go directly to staff and on the ground services in Sierra Leone.  Please visit our website for more information and sign up for our mailing list to follow what we are doing!  We are so thankful for what God and our supporters are helping to realize.  We are in deep gratitude for our partners and the prayers we continually receive to all this work to be done.  We are well on our way to supporting our precious women and children to feel seen and loved!  Home | Sierra Cares Foundation 

Links:

• Sierra Cares Foundation website

Kusheh usay Makeni, Sierra Leone!

It is a pleasure to write an update on behalf of the Sierra Cares Foundation in Makeni, Sierra Leone. It has been nearly 2 years since Covid hit and some of the strategy and resources have shifted to meet basic needs, but we are slowly moving forward with incremental and crucial projects, including having our kids back at school fulltime!  

Since 2020, Sierra Cares Foundation has served to repatriate over 511 women back from the Middle East and has 69 students in our Makeni School.  With the Christmas season passed, we were able to provide all the students and some of the women in our program with a Christmas gift, clothing, and food for their families, which was an incredible blessing.

We also rolling out our business micro loan program for eligible women to continue to help them have a sustainable living and reduce their vulnerability to human trafficking and poverty.  The first of 3 monthly loans will be disbursed in February, which we will continue to award three a month with a scaled repayment plan (at zero interest) to be collected and distributed onto future applicants, spurring a community program in a pay-it-forward style.

In addition to continuing to cover educational expenses for students, we also are working to get our staff educated and reduce the barriers of poverty though a University Education.  We sent funding to help staff with their entrance exams and are waiting for the results mid-March.

Lastly, we purchased land to build the SCF Community Center on, slated for summer 2022.  The community center is greatly needed to run our educational and therapeutic programs for the survivors of human trafficking that have been repatriated back to Makeni and surrounding areas.  None of this is possible without the support of donors and partnerships with other organizations.  We are excited to continue to build a strong program in Makeni that focuses on strengthening vulnerable populations and allowing them to thrive through education, mental and physical health support, and job training.

As always, Sierra Cares Foundation does not take any donor fees to cover costs and all work is done by volunteers, so that donor money can go directly to staff and on the ground services in Sierra Leone.