Summer 2021 Newsletter
September is already upon us and our team in Sierra Leone are busy preparing the young mothers to return to school after their summer breaks. Over the next year we will be supporting over 30 girls to continue their schooling at secondary school level and an additional 60 will be supported to pursue vocational training at local learning institutions and workplaces. Thanks to the generosity of supporters new and old, we plan to recruit at least 30 more young mothers over the next few months, as 10 prepare to exit the programme. We are also excited to let you know that one of the young mothers on our programme has secured the grades to go on to higher education and we will be providing her with a college scholarship - our first ever!
We have lots of other exciting plans in the pipeline - one of which is to pilot a drop-in centre at our new office in Bo where young mothers in the area can access information, services and advice. We are also developing a plan to create a co-working space at our office to give young female-led groups the opportunity to have desk space and internet free of charge to work on their ideas. We look forward to sharing more information in due course - watch this space!
AdAmi Project turns three
Time to refresh our mission statement and programme goals
In March, our trustees and volunteers came together for a virtual workshop to review and update our mission statement and programme goals. The existing statement and goals had been drafted in 2018 so we felt that it was time to do a refresh, to reflect the changing context and the many learnings we have gathered since launching our programme (we turn three this month!).
Our ultimate aim is unchanged: we exist to work with young mothers to build a brighter future for themselves and their family. But we hope that the refreshed statement and goals better reflect the wider holistic programme we deliver and our ambitions for the young mothers who we work with.
Our updated mission statement is as follows:
Working together with young mothers in Sierra Leone to lead happy, healthy and financially resilient lives
And our new intended outcomes are:
Young mothers have increased knowledge, skills and confidence to make informed and positive life choices
Young mothers complete a basic education or vocational training
Young mothers achieve greater financial resilience through business training and support
Communities provide a supportive and safe environment for young mothers to succeed
You can read more about the refresh here.
Mentors and their role as advocates
We often talk about the critical role of local female mentors in our work. Matched to individual young mothers, they provide ongoing support and encouragement, helping the girls to work towards life goals and to grow in confidence and self-esteem. Yet their role goes much beyond this, and they often become advocates in situations where the young mothers struggle to have their voices heard.
We were reminded of this recently when one of the young mothers, Halamatu, came to us with her daughter who was severely malnourished. Halamatu had been going back and forth to the local health clinic for weeks but was struggling to access the advice and support she needed to help her daughter get better. So one of our social workers, Mariama, began to join her at the appointments to advocate for help on her behalf.
Sadly, too often young mothers in Sierra Leone are dismissed by professionals and not given the care and attention they need. But with Mariama present, they could not ignore Halamatu’s case. As a result of Mariama’s advocacy, the child was admitted to hospital and Halamatu became more confident in seeking further treatment for her daughter. Within weeks, the child’s weight had increased from 4.5kg to 4.9kg, and we are pleased to report that she continues to get better. You can read the full story here.
Establishing parent groups
Our local partner, Movement for Education and Advocacy Network Salone (MEANS), has been busy setting up new parent groups in four local communities where we work, in the Bo and Kenema districts. The goal of these groups is to increase the participation and voice of the parents and guardians, providing a space for them to come together to support one another and also increasing their commitment to the goals of the project. The four groups - in Gondama, Bo town, Kenema and Baoma - have already set-up executive committees and selected local committee members. We can’t wait to see what they get up to over the coming months.
Update on our business support programme
With business start-up grants and training delivered by our local partner MEANS, young mothers in Bo and Kenema are doing brilliant work running small businesses to raise additional income for themselves and their families. MEANS recently caught up with Christiana and Adama, two young mothers from Kenema, and shared the below update with our team.
Before Christiana set up her business selling rice cakes, she tried to earn money by helping her neighbour sell clean water, but it left her struggling to afford food and medication. She is now in a much better position to support herself and her child, as she earns extra money at the weekends walking around her community selling rice cakes. Christiana enjoys having her own income and hopes to be able to own a bigger business in the future.
Adama couldn’t find any work before the AdAmi Project supported her to set up her own business selling cucumbers and mangoes. That meant she had been struggling to meet her basic needs, without enough money to buy shoes and clothing. Now she is able to earn a small income, which helps her to take care of her younger sister as well as herself and her child. Adama sells her produce every day in the evenings after school, often to her friends but also at the community centre. That means she has to balance the business with spending her days in school, as well as taking care of her child, and sometimes the market doesn’t have the stock she needs. But she likes developing a good relationship with her customers, and wants to go on to set up her own business as a seamstress.
Thanks for reading :-)