Relief and Poverty Alleviation Through Key Gifts

One of the adverse effects of the current epidemic in Sierra Leone is the higher cost of living. Families that depend on goods coming from the provinces for their livelihood are finding it very difficult to survive. Prices have increased dramatically and business has slowed down considerably.  

As the BBC reports: 

"The economy has been deflated by 30% because of Ebola," Sierra Leone's Agriculture Minister Joseph Sam Sesay told the BBC.

He said President Ernest Bai Koroma revealed this staggering and depressing news to ministers at a special cabinet meeting. "The agricultural sector is the most impacted in terms of Ebola because the majority of the people of Sierra Leone - about 66% - are farmers," he said. ...

"We are now coming into the planting season which means a lot of agriculture is not happening, so down the line that will create food shortages and pressures on food prices. We are starting to see a rise in inflation and pressure on the national currency as well as a shortage of foreign exchange," he said.

The Good News: We are together helping to address this situation by providing healthy meals and emergency assistance to people in dire straits.  By meeting their immediate short-term needs, they are better able to focus on getting their lives back on track.  There is truly nothing quite like a healthy, warm meal for people who are struggling to survive.

Thank so much for your support as we provide the needed food to keep people healthy and their spirits up.  Together we are bringing real hope!. 

Links:

• Ebola crisis: The economic impact

All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy. Did you remember learning this proverb / saying when you were growing up?

As you may know, Develop Africa focuses on empowering lives in Africa by providing the resources and support that they need to improve and better themselves.  Through your support, we have provided scholarships, mosquito nets, uniforms, school supplies etc. to thousands to children.  We motivate them on an on-going basis to do well at school.

That said we realize that life is more than progress in school.  There are many other things that are essential for children to learn as they grow.  The growth and development of children must be rounded and holistic.

With this in mind, we support a range of other activities on an on-going basis.  This includes the provision of exercise or sports equipment - such as soccer / volleyballs, skipping / jump ropes etc.  We recently provided a new set of these items and organized a number of competitions (with prize money for the winners) for the kids at Door of Hope. Our goal was to brighten the lives of the kids.

We believe that kids should have fun together.  Tremendous learning takes place in this atmosphere.  This offers several benefits including improved social interaction and understanding, better relationships with each other, focused skill learning, encouragement of competition etc.

Our sports competition event was a success.  The kids had a blast and were so very excited.

Watch Video - play time - sports activities and competitons

The photos and video show some of the activities - the skipping / jump rope competition and soccer penalty / goal scoring competition.  The videos show their energy.  Don’t you wish you were there?

The children truly had a lot of fun!  Thanks to your support we brightened their day and helped them become better, more rounded children.  Thank YOU for helping to be a part of enriching their lives.  Africa will have a brighter future - thanks to YOUR support!

Links:

• Play time - sports activities and competitons