Fortunately the Covid-19 pandemic has remained under control in Sierra Leone and so, it’s been very much business as usual for our project this year. As well as continuing to provide tailored support to the existing young mothers on our programme, we have also been busy pushing forward with some exciting new plans. In this newsletter we share just a few highlights from the past few months. A huge thank you for all of your support in making this work possible.

Expanding the Project

The AdAmi Project has now been registered as a national NGO in Sierra Leone. To support this work, two new women have joined our team: Mariama, a qualified social worker, who will be the main point of contact for the girls on the programme and Beth, our new Country Manager, who will be coordinating the project and working closely with the UK team. Over the past few months, Beth and Mariama have been busy launching our programme in a fifth community in Bo town, with a further 20 young mothers now enrolled onto the programme. Mariama has started to meet with the girls once a week to better understand their situations and needs, and to build trust among the group. They’ve even been enjoying some sessions in mindfulness and yoga! Our next step is to introduce weekly sports and life skills sessions and from there, support the girls to return to school, begin vocational training or set up a small business.

Here’s how two of the girls came to join the programme:

When Jenneh (name changed to protect identity) got pregnant, aged 14, her aunt threw her out of the house, and Jenneh had to move in with her boyfriend and his family. Tragically, their baby died at just 3 months old. So Jenneh returned to her aunt, who said they would allow her to live with them but would no longer pay for her education. To afford her school fees, Jenneh fell into prostitution. But trying to meet the demands of school as well as earning money became too much for her so, in SSS1, she gave up school. Jenneh hopes the AdAmi Project will give her the support which she feels like she no longer receives from her community, and enable her to complete her education. 

Mariama is in a similar position, of having sadly lost her baby, and hoping the AdAmi Project can help her build a brighter future.  Mariama has long struggled to afford an education, as her mother had nine children to support with a small income made from selling fish. Then Mariama’s aunt – with whom she was living in Bo as her mother could no longer take care of the whole family – had a motorbike accident, and left Mariama alone in order to see a traditional healer in another district. It was then that Mariama met Moses, who helped her pay for food and the materials she needed for school. She became pregnant by him, but they tragically lost the baby in childbirth. So now Mariama is living with her grandmother, tending the potato leaf garden and selling the produce at market.  But she hopes that through the AdAmi Project, she will be able to return to school.

Kenema Mothers Mean Business!

In collaboration with our long-standing implementing partner Movement for Education and Advocacy Salone (MEANS), thirteen more girls in Kenema town have been supported to set-up their own petty trading businesses, between them selling a range of items from pens to petrol, cucumbers to chewing gum. We gave them training on how to run their own business as well as small non-refundable grants to purchase equipment, materials or stock to get started. Operating outside of their time in school, these businesses will enable them to generate some extra income for food, medicine and other essentials. 

Pictured is Baindu, who has been buying and selling pens at school and in the community. She is already generating a small profit which she is using to purchase food for her child and younger brother

Update from our workplace apprenticeship programme

Last year 40 young mothers joined our new workplace apprenticeship programme and they are now busy training full-time in popular and in-demand local vocations including tailoring, mechanics and welding. 

Bilksu (pictured above) is training to become a mechanic. She is affectionately called the ‘Head Girl’ by her colleagues at the local mechanic shop where she works in Bo town, in recognition of her leadership, commitment to the job and likeable personality.

Sarah (above) is one of our tailoring students and has started putting her skills to good use after work, making and selling clothes in her community. The income she earns helps her to buy food and other essential items for her young child.

Virtual Workshop with Volunteers and Trustees

At the beginning of March, AdAmi Project trustees and volunteers met virtually for a workshop to examine and refresh our current mission statement, goals and theory of change. Lots of time was spent exploring leanings from the first three years of the project, discussing the changing context in which we operate (for example, the lifting of the ban on pregnant girls attending school) and, in recognition of this, key considerations that need to be made going forward. It was an engaging and thoughtprovoking session and the team are now working on updating the mission statement and goals, so that they best reflect our work and the impact that we aim to make. We are excited to share these with you in due course - watch this space!

Thank you! On behalf of the entire AdAmi Project team, a huge tenki (thank you) for your support. Should you have any questions about the work detailed in this newsletter then please do not hesitate to contact Kirsty on kirstywood@adamiproject.org