Our work is focused in Sierra Leone (red on the map), West Africa, a small nation about the size of South Carolina on the west coast of Africa with a population of 8.4 million people with a median age of 18 years. Life expectancy is 55 years. There are over a dozen tribal groups with distinct languages. The climate is tropical with a hot, humid summer rainy season from May to December and a dry winter dry season from December to April.
Sierra Leone ranks 181 of 187 nations ranked by the Human Development Index. It was scarred by a brutal civil war from 1991 – 2002 and was at the center of the Ebola epidemic from 2013 – 2015. The under-five mortality statistic has dropped to 72 deaths per 1000 live births. That’s a dramatic improvement, but still far too high. There are 1.4 doctors, nurses and midwives per 10 000 population.
Until Ebola hit in 2014, economic growth was projected at nearly 15%, but growth has decreased since then to around 3%. Infrastructure improvements, particularly electrification and road construction are making a difference.
There are vast differences between the capital city of Freetown and rural areas where extreme poverty is common.
In Freetown, we sponsored four young adults to complete vocational training at Murialdo Institute of Technology and worked with Child and Family Protective Services to get vulnerable children into safe homes. Now we work with Uman Tok and the Dream Team which are headquartered in Freetown.
Our current rural development projects are focused in our target area in a remote rural area between Thonkomba and Mabamba villages where there is great need for wells, schools, and economic development.
