Plan Sierra Leone: what we do

Plan Sierra Leone’s core areas of activity include:

• education
• health
• economic security.

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Plan Sierra Leone

Plan has been working in Sierra Leone since 1976, helping poor children to access their rights to education, health, livelihood, sanitation and protection.

Our programmes benefit 7,000 children in 1,126 communities across the country.

Currently, we are focusing our efforts on tackling malaria. Sierra Leone has one of the world’s highest infant mortality rates, and 70% of these deaths are caused by the disease. We are implementing a malaria prevention and control project with the help of an investment by the European Commission and Plan Germany of more than 1,000,000 euros over a 5 year period.

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Eradicting female genital mutilation in Sierra Leone

At the age of 16 Christiana was forced to marry a man older than her father and to take part in a secret FGM ceremony to initiate her into womanhood. “All the women in our family have been initiated. They were preparing me for marriage. The man who wanted to marry me told my family into initiate me into the secret society. I was not pleased about that because my granny who raised me was not around. When we went there I was so afraid. I almost fainted in the process. I was really painful, that was why I was so afraid. ”

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Empowerment: Sierra Leone

Because I am a girl…I have the right to be whatever I want to be.

Danica, a young teenager in rural Sierra Leone, has big dreams.
Read her story.

After emerging from a ravaging civil war marked by horrific cases of violence, rape, and human rights violations, development indicators listed Sierra Leone as one of the worst places in the world both socially and economically. Although the country has today achieved relative national stability, violence is still very much a part of life for the majority of girls in Sierra Leone. Teen pregnancy has reached alarming rates among girls in Sierra Leone. Over 40% of young women had their first baby by the age of 18, and 12% gave birth by age 15. Pregnancy is a leading cause for school dropout among girls.

3 ways we’re keeping families nourished in Sierra Leone

Nothing beats a hot meal after a long journey to school and a morning filled with classes. Or a home-cooked meal after a long day of work. It’s the fuel that keeps us going.
But it’s hard to learn on an empty stomach. And hunger pangs are no match for an effective workday. With no promise of food, priorities begin to shift. Children miss out on school and parents lack the strength to provide for their families.

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Case study: Girls speak out at UN

A delegation of girls from poor rural communities across the world are sharing the harsh reality of their lives at a United Nations meeting in New York.

The 9 Plan-supported teenagers from Cambodia, Cameroon, Malawi, Pakistan and Sierra Leone will tell the Commission on the Status of Women* (CSW), of the daily challenges girls face in their communities – from early and forced marriage to polygamy and domestic violence.

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Echoing Malala's voice: Youth take over Sierra Leone's national parliament

As youth from all over the world today join Malala Yousafzai in taking over the United Nations General Assembly in New York, thousands of miles away, in Freetown, Sierra Leone, a group of 50 young people between the ages of 11 and 18 are setting out to do the same in their national parliament.

24 boys and 26 girls, from communities where Plan works all over Sierra Leone have been inspired by Malala’s call to action on education, giving a voice to the 66 million other girls who, like she once was, are denied an education.

They too want to raise awareness by advocating draft resolutions that directly fall in line with the Millennium Development Goal’s objective to achieve universal primary education.

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Plan’s Youth in Governance Program in Sierra Leone

In 2008, Mary approached Plan with a project concept regarding good governance and youth.

As CEO and founder of the Women’s Centre for Good Governance and Human Rights, Mary had a vision that women and youth would begin to have a voice in their communities and in national politics.

When we asked Mary why she decided to dedicate her life to fighting for human rights, she shared a story of hardship.

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Bringing Savings to Sierra Leone: Danica's Story

Danica is a bright 13-year-old with six brothers and sisters who lives in the far-flung community of Songo in Sierra Leone. Danica was just a baby when the brutal civil war that devastated her country came to a close, and she has grown up in its wake.

War is destructive on multiple levels. Even once the initial wreckage has been cleared, there still remains pervasive damage to society and infrastructure. During the war, Sierra Leone’s currency hit record rates of inflation. Saving money became not only irrelevant, but actually irresponsible. The savings culture was completely destroyed, as well as any ability to invest in the future.

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Educate and empower a girl and build a stronger community

Freida Pinto writes about her visit to Plan-supported communities in Sierra Leone.

In Sierra Leone, the treacherous web of problems women face is endless - teenage pregnancies, forced or self-imposed prostitution to make ends meet, death during pregnancy, denial of education and the shocking female genital mutilation that is unfortunately embedded in tradition.

There is no overnight solution to these problems, but here’s what I think - educate and empower a girl and she will help build a stronger community. Ask them what their dreams are and they will, in their extremely polished, polite and upper-crust English, tell you that they want to be accountants, doctors, journalists, politicians - but only after they say that they dream of a place that is rid of gender inequality.

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Case study: Salamatu's school dream comes true

Two years ago, Salamatu, 19, was forced to drop out of business school because she could not afford to pay the tuition fees after the death of her father and brother.

Plan Sierra Leone and local partner, CIFORD, set up youth savings and loans groups in her community and it was not long before Salamatu had joined, become chairwoman of her group, and taken out her first loans: one to buy a bag of rice to start up her small business and one to pay her school fees.

She is one of over 3,000 young people in Freetown, Sierra Leone, participating in Plan's youth savings and loans programme, which introduces 15-25 year olds to financial literacy.

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A Diamond in West Africa

Located in West Africa, the Mano River basin encompasses regions of Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Quests to control oil, diamond and gold stores have contributed to the area’s conflict, but there is one Guinean woman determined to bring stability to the region.

Dr. Saran Daraba Kaba, a CEDPA alumna, is the founder and president of the Mano River Women’s Peace Network. In 2000, Dr. Saran led women from all walks of life to participate in the process of bringing peace to the region. The network participated in negotiations, which culminated in peace talks in Ghana in 2003. Because of their efforts, the U.N awarded them with the Prize in the field of Human Rights.

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Plan responds to cholera outbreak in Sierra Leone

Plan is stepping up its humanitarian response in Sierra Leone, due to a rapid increase of cholera cases in recent weeks. While the cholera outbreak in Sierra Leone began in January, in recent weeks it has intensified.

3,375 children across the country have contracted the illness to date and at least 216 people have died. President Ernest Bai Koroma has declared a national emergency.

"We are working to reduce the impact of this devastating outbreak on children and their communities. Currently we are concentrating on promoting crucial hygiene messages in schools, improving sanitation, and making sure people have access to safe water." says Plan's Disaster Advisor, Edward Sesay.

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En ny chance: Ya Marie

Two years ago, Ya Marie, a teenage girl from Sierra Leone, was forced to leave school because of violence she endured in the classroom. Without an education, Ya Marie had little hope of escaping a life of poverty. But a second chance helped Ya Marie reach her dreams.

She joined Plan’s village savings and loans youth group in her village and developed the confidence and leadership skills needed to speak out in support of girls’ rights and against the violence she faced in school.

Her passion was not ignored. In March, Ya Marie was selected to represent Plan at a UN meeting on women’s rights in New York City.

“This was my first experience outside my country,” sagde hun. “My mom and sister were so proud. It gives me hope to believe in myself and stand up for girls’ rights. i want to become a great woman and advocate for women and girls’ rights."

Today, Ya Marie is back home doing community work with girls who have left school, and plans to go back to school.

Slumdog-stjerne støtter Plans arbejde for pigerne

Skuespiller Freida Pinto, der er kendt fra den oscar-vindende film Slumdog Millionaire, er blevet ambassadør for Plans pigekampagne "Because I am a Girl". Freida besøgte for nylig Plans projekter i Sierra Leone for at møde nogle af de piger, som Plan støtter. Freidas budskab var klart: Piger få en uddannelse! Se en film med Freida Pinto og pigerne her: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYyxk7ajaEA Du kan også støtte pigerne. Se hvordan her

Piger taler ud hos FN

En delegation af piger fra fattige landdistrikter i hele verden deler den hårde virkelighed der er deres liv hos de Forenede Nationers møde i New York denne uge.

de 9 Plan-supported teenagere fra Cambodja, Cameroun, Malawi, Pakistan og Sierra Leone vil fortælle the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), om de daglige udfordringer piger står overfor i deres samfund - fra tidlig og tvangsægteskaber til polygami og vold i hjemmet.

Teresa, der er 17 år gammel og fra Sierra Leone, hun er en af delegaterne der repræsenterer hendes jævnaldrende, samfund og land.

“I want to be part of the decision of who I marry and when, I will decide how many children I will have... If I have daughters, they will go to school and have an equal place within the family. As adults they will take care of their children so that they too will enjoy their rights,” sagde hun.

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