ADVENTIST DEVELOPMENT AND RELIEF AGENCY

 

ADRA IN SIERRA LEONE

ADRA Sierra Leone belongs to the network of ADRA, which encompasses other ADRA offices in over 125 countries worldwide. ADRA-SL began its operation on a small scale as far back as the 80’s in the northern town of Masanga in the Tonkolili district and with the increase for humanitarian support.  ADRA-SL again signed an agreement and memorandum of understanding on the 9th of October 1998 with the Sierra Leone government to re-establish its presence and work in Sierra Leone.

Project History:

ADRA-SL is one of the international NGO’s working in recognition of the deplorable condition of the Sierra Leonean populace, with a vision to improve the quality of human life in Sierra Leone. During the ten years of brutal and senseless war, ADRA-SL was involved in a broad range of development and relief activities.
Family tracing for the purpose of unifying unaccompanied children with their relatives

  • Refugee assistance and rehabilitation as a means of implementing UNHCR’s repatriation of Sierra Leoneans from Liberia

  • Crisis/Welfare intervention in the form of distribution of used clothing, footwear, food and wheelchairs (food and-non food items) to destitute and disabled Persons.

  • Distribution of food from World Food Programme for people of Port Loko district for the resettlement programme thereby providing food for work, food for training and food for schools

  • Agricultural interventions have formed an integral part of ADRA-SL’s operation thereby providing assorted agricultural tools, vegetable seeds, and cassava in enhancing the Sierra Leone government’s call for food production and self-sufficiency

  • Health care intervention became necessary at the Waterloo Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp to cater for the over twelve thousand inhabitant residents.  This is evidenced by its dire indicators.  The well-equipped and qualified personnel continued to provide health facilities to the displaced and their environs.  Other areas of health care intervention include: Mother/Care health, Nutritional Rehabilitation, Health Services, Water and Sanitation

  • Educational intervention has also been undertaken to cater for the educational needs of the school going children in the IDP camp at Waterloo and also a gesture to the government’s call for the eradication of illiteracy in the country.  Qualified and trained teachers are hired for the noble job.

GOVERNANCE

ADRA SIERRA LEONE has an Executive Committee that meets often for strategy and decision making. This comprises of 11 professionals in varied and relevant backgrounds for our work.

CURRENT PROJECTS 2007-2010

1. SABABU EDUCATION PROJECT/ADRA SIERRA LEONE/WESTERN RURAL DISTRICT

This project is funded by the World Bank through Sierra Leone Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. The objective of the project is to assist the government to carry out a program that aims at re-establishing educational services in the post-conflict context and preparing the ground for strengthening the education sector by: assisting eligible schools to achieve basic operational levels, improving the capacity of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports to plan and manage the delivery of educational service, facilitating immediate reconstruction and rehabilitation of Basic Education (BE), Voluntary Skills Training (VST) provision of infrastructure that have witnessed massive damage and disruption caused by the war and improving teachers’ living conditions through support to Government-sponsored housing units to be constructed in the most severely deprived areas as an incentive for teachers to work in remote areas, training them and the school management committees. The Project thus has three components: Partnership Program Funds (to rehabilitate BE, VST and Literacy); Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building and Project Management.

It commenced in January, 2005 and was expected to last for two years. The total project cost is 394,802 USD. Activities in this project include: construction, rehabilitation and reconstruction of school buildings, construction of VIP latrines, sinking of water wells, supply of school furniture, supply of textbooks and teaching/learning materials, training of untrained and unqualified primary school teachers, training on peace education and peace building initiatives and training of school management committees.

Two sets of schools are benefiting from the project as follows:
Full Grant Schools benefit from civil works, teaching/learning materials, training of Untrained, Unqualified (UU) teachers and school management committees. 12 primary schools and 3 junior secondary schools are benefiting.
Partial Grant Schools benefit from teaching/learning materials and training of UU teachers only. 38 primary schools and 6 junior secondary schools are benefiting.

The following have been accomplished:

  • Core textbooks have been supplied. Additional core textbooks of over 154,000 core textbooks are currently being stamped for distribution.

  • 5 primary schools and 2 junior secondary schools have been completed and handed over to the school authorities in June, 2007. An additional 3 schools have been practically completed and waiting to be handed over to the school authorities.

  • Construction of a 3-classroom block with office and store, 3-compartment VIP latrine and 1 water well with hand pump at Makorbeh, and reconstruction of 3-classoom block and construction of 3-compartment VIP latrine at Kono Town is ongoing.

  • Bidding process for contractors to construct a 3-classroom block with office and store, 6-compartment VIP latrine and 1water well with hand pump at Rural Commercial Vocational Secondary School, Waterloo, is ongoing.

  • Training of UU teachers, undertaken by UNICEF is nearing completion.

  • Training of school management committees for the 12 full grant primary schools has also been completed.


2. AMBASSADOR’S GIRLS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM (AGSP)/ADRA SIERRA LEONE, PORT LOKO DISTRICT

This project, now in its fifth year, is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through World Education, expected to continue through 2010/2011. The project provides scholarship assistance in the form of books, shoes, tuition, uniform and food to the girl child, empowering vulnerable girls to contribute meaningfully towards the rehabilitation of their war-torn communities. The program also provides mentoring and training sessions such as HIV/AIDS awareness and community participation activities, encouraging primary school girls to be educated within their communities thereby decreasing the high rate of illiteracy among women in the Port Loko District. The activities are ongoing in Koya, Maforkie, Marampa, Dibia chiefdoms in Port Loko District. During the 2006/2007 academic year, 722 girls in over 18 schools benefitted from the project. The project provides school support in the form of scholarship for 520 vulnerable primary school girls and 250 vulnerable primary school boys during the 2007/8 academic year. Other components of the project include HIV/AIDS sensitization and mentoring.
 

3. GLOBAL FUND, HIV/AIDS Response Program, ROUND 4& 6/ADRA SIERRA LEONE/PORT LOKO & TONKOLILI

ADRA Sierra Leone started implementing this project in April 2006. This is a national project funded by Global Fund to Fight against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, through the National Aids Secretariat of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation. It is expected to continue until 2010. ADRA Sierra Leone is one of the partners implementing this project focusing on two objectives:

Global Fund objective 5 (Sexually Transmitted Infections’ (STI) Management)
Global Fund objective 7 (Voluntary Confidential Counselling and Testing)

Activities under objective 5 include: to identify, refurbish and renovate STI Clinics, absorb STI sites from Global Fund Round 4, recruit project staff, recruit incentive staff; cascade training for hospital and private clinic staff, provide information, education, communication (IEC) materials on STIs, sensitize communities around STI service providers, advocate for STI management in communities around STI service providers (community leaders, religious/traditional leaders, youth leaders, etc), procure and repair/maintain office equipment and vehicles (car & motorbikes), monitor and supervise STI management. The following Chiefdoms are the project areas in the 2 districts: Koya, Masimbra, Kolifa, Rowalla and Tane, covering 18 sites.

Activities under objective 7 include: to identify, renovate and refurbish VCCT sites, absorb VCCT sites from Global Fund Round 4, recruit project staff, recruit incentive staff, cascade training for hospital and private clinic staff, provide information, education, communication

(IEC) materials for VCCT, sensitize static and mobile VCCT sites, advocate for VCCT static and mobile sites through local leadership, procure and repair/maintain vehicles (motorbikes), monitor and supervise VCCT management. The following Chiefdoms are the project areas in the 2 districts: Koya, Masimbra, Kolifa, Rowalla and Tane, covering 3 sites.

ADRA Sierra Leone collaborates with about 15 Peripheral Health Units (PHUs) in Koya Chiefdom, the Adventist Health System (AHS) Hospital at Waterloo, the Bai Bureh Memorial Hospital at Mahera, Kafu Bullom Chiefdom and the District Health Management Team (DHMT) in Port Loko District in the implementation of the project. ADRA Sierra Leone conducts community sensitizations, including schools.

4. CLINIC CONSTRUCTION PROJECT/PORT LOKO DISTRICT

This project was funded by a private donor through ADRA International. The beneficiaries are the Fondu community in the Koya Chiefdom and other neighbouring communities, bringing the number of estimated direct beneficiaries to nearly 2000. The total cost of the project was 20,000 USD. The clinic comprises of three observation rooms (men, women and children), a consultation room for the Community Health officer (CHO), and a consultation room for the Maternal and Child Health Aide (MCH) with a Labour Room adjacent to it. The building has a small store and at the back a ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrine with two apartments. This makes a total of six rooms with a free outpatient space that can accommodate 30 or more people in one sitting.

The building has a front and back verandas which can be used for anthropometric measures of weight and height. The clinic situated on a hill, links the two sections of the village once separated by a small bush. There is a school opposite the clinic and the sects of houses on either side of the school and clinic structure. The clinic has been handed over to the community on March 19, 2008. There is an article in the Premier Newspaper for April 4 2008 with the details and pictures of the handing over ceremony. Live interviews were also carried out on the project with the UN radio.

5. REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH PROJECT/PORT LOKO DISTRICT

This project is funded by ADRA International and officially commenced in November, 2007. The project is implemented in Koya Chiefdom, Port Loko District and is currently operating in 13 targeted schools. This project is a direct result of the findings from the field during the implementation of the AGSP, as even girls with scholarship were found to be pregnant.

The project goal is to sensitize youth on reproductive health issues, enabling them to make better lifestyle choices, to minimize HIV/AIDS prevalence and Sexually Transmitted Infections, and to empower them with life skills through contacts with community based organizations for sustainable lives through mentorship and information sharing in the rural setting. It empowers students to focus on their studies as a means of achieving success. The project also has an agricultural component to it that at a later stage will help drop out students to start small farms as income generating and for food supply for their daily needs.

The strategies involve a non formal approach to teaching, formation of health clubs, career talks, and production of health posters, plays, audio visual presentations and quiz competitions. Two new female field officers have been recruited and they are working closely with the Project Officer.
 

6. LUNGI FOOD SECURITY PROJECT- KAFFU BULLOM CHIEFDOM /PORT LOKO DISTRICT

Working with nearly 2,500 farmers, the food security project is strengthening the Maragiri Women Cooperative through provision of tools, materials and machinery for the general use of small scale farmers and non farmers associations by 2010. The project aims at increasing quality and productivity of farm yield and non farming livelihood skills by training 180 small scale farmers and non farmers in improved methods of vegetable gardening, bread making, salt processing, Gara tie dying and shrimp fishing; increasing literacy levels of members of small scale farmers’ associations for better public entrepreneurial relationships and marketing; and improving the committee members of farmers’ associations’knowledge and skills in monitoring, documentation and reporting for better decision making and leadership skills


7. WOMEN’S INCOME SUSTAINABILITY AND EMPOWERMENT (WISE) PROJECT/PORT LOKO DISTRICT

This project aims at empowering women to address socio-cultural, economic, political and health issues at the family and community levels. The project objectives include: Increased numeracy, reading and writing skills among target communities; Increased participation of women in income generation activities and Increased awareness about the impact of socio-cultural practices (e.g. domestic violence, and HIV/AIDS on women’s health  .

The project will work with women and community members (over 6,000) and leaders to form literacy clubs and cooperatives. It will train traditional birth attendants (TBAs), and medicinal practitioners.
 

STAFFING CAPACITY

ADRA Sierra Leone staff currently consists of a Country Director, Programmes Director, Project Consultant, several Project Officers, several Field Officers, Accountants, an Office Attendant, Driver(s), and a Security Guard.

ADRA-SL currently has its head office in Freetown, while the field office is based in Mile 38.

ADRA-SL promotes a wide range of working relationship experience with both national and international organizations including NGO’s and the UN specialized agencies. Since January 2007, a new Country Director is in place and the office is currently strategizing a way forward for the achievement of our vision and mission.

© DACO/SLIS August 2008