The Year in Review: 2022
Rounding up another successful year for the AdAmi Project
This year, the AdAmi Project has worked intensively with almost 100 vulnerable young mothers in Sierra Leone. Through educational scholarships, mentoring, life skills training and other tailored support, we have helped them to lead healthier, happier and more financially independent lives. We have reached many more people through wider family outreach and community activities, which benefit the young mothers by reducing the stigma they face and by catalysing support within their communities.
We are proud of all that we have accomplished this year, working alongside our local teams, AdAmi Project Sierra Leone and MEANS. In this newsletter, we highlight just a few of our favourite moments and milestones from the year. ‘Tenki’ (thank you) for your incredible support in making this possible.
Celebrating Big Give success
The AdAmi Project recently took part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge, the UK’s biggest match-funding campaign. We are pleased to say that it was a huge success, raising over £7,000 for our work in just one week!
This campaign was our first public-facing fundraising effort. So, it was really encouraging and uplifting to experience such huge levels of support and generosity towards our work. A special thanks to our individual pledgers, to the Coles-Medlock Foundation for championing our campaign and to the 60 people who donated during the week.
Experiencing the world of work
A key goal of the AdAmi Project is to support young mothers to take their first steps towards employment, enabling them to earn an income of their own and work towards financial independence. The primary means by which we do this is through facilitating training and work-placement opportunities - more than 70% of the young mothers we support opt to pursue vocational training, with the most popular vocations including tailoring, catering and auto-mechanics.
Over the past few months, a number of the young mothers have been busy taking part in full-time work placements as part of their vocational training courses. This has included working in restaurants, hair salons and tailoring shops, giving them the opportunity to develop and practise new skills, gain new experiences to bolster their CV, and to make connections with local employers.
“The thing I love most about the work placement is getting to interact with customers at the restaurant and to use the skills I have learnt during my course to provide excellent customer services'', said Hawa, a catering student.
Girls taking the lead - building a vibrant girls-led network
The AdAmi Project has proudly been supporting the development of the Community Girls Network. The network is led by the young mothers on our programme to raise awareness and support for their rights and the rights of other girls and young women in the community. “I am using my own life experience to help others. I became pregnant at 12 and suffered a lot. I am using my experience to encourage peers to hold education seriously and to stay confident in what they are doing.” says Baindu, one of the network members.
2022 has seen the network go from strength to strength with the girls now regularly delivering educational and awareness campaigns on issues affecting them and their communities, such as child marriage and teenage pregnancy. This is generating very real and powerful change. For example, when the Community Girls Network heard about a girl called Nasi, who had become pregnant and was being forced into an early marriage, they took action by reporting the matter to the local Town Chief.
The Chief warned the families that child marriage is a crime, and he urged them to keep Nasi in school instead. When her parents still refused, the Town Chief reported them to the police, which ensured the marriage did not take place. Now, Nasi’s relationship with her parents is improving, and she will be free to raise her baby with their support and that of the other young mothers she met through the Community Girls Network.
Spotlight on Auntie Doris and Tiangay - celebrating the impact of mentoring
Every young mother is matched with a local female mentor when they join the AdAmi Project. These mentors meet with the young women every week, helping them to work towards key goals, grow in confidence and self-esteem, and to reach their full potential. Needless to say, the mentors have become the cornerstone of our programme.
Doris, or ‘Auntie Doris’ as she is affectionately known by the young women of the AdAmi Project, was a mentor to Tiangay from 2018 until she completed the programme in early 2022. They are continuing to work hand-in-hand to fight for the rights and opportunities of other young mothers through the activities of the Community Girls Network. Here, they explain what they admire about one another.
Doris on Tiangay: “Tiangay’s life is very different to the one she had before. I really admire how she has turned her life around. She has taken her book-learning seriously and has created a big impact on her life.”
Tiangay on Doris: “She is persistent and committed. When I was in the programme she would come to my house two or even three times a day to make sure I was studying and was ok. I am so lucky to have her in my life.”
Exam success
We are delighted to report that Aminata, who was the inspiration behind the AdAmi Project in 2018, was one of the many young mothers on our programme to pass their end-of-year school examinations this year. Aminata has now been promoted to SSS3, the final year of senior secondary school. When we first met Aminata she had been forced out of school and from her family home due to her pregnancy. Back then, her future felt uncertain. Now she is a brilliant and dedicated student with a bright future ahead.
Our first university scholar Nasiratu also continues to do well. Alongside her studies, Nasiaratu has been reaching out to support and encourage other young mothers in her community, sharing her experiences and showing by example that having a baby does not have to mean the end of their education.
“I never had the confidence to believe I could continue in school” she explains. “But thanks to the project and my aunty [her mentor Miatta] who encouraged me, I came to realise that maybe I could return to school. Now I am a university student. I want to pass on this courage and inspiration to other young mothers in the position I was once in. I want to give back.”
Tackling stereotypes and shifting attitudes
In Sierra Leone, the stigma attached to pregnancy outside of marriage means that many girls enrolled onto the AdAmi Project have been thrown out of their parents’ home, and forced either to find refuge at a friends house or survive on the kindness of strangers.
Our family mediation and reunification activities are therefore critical to ensuring that the young mothers have the love and support of their families, and a safe place to call home. The fantastic work and perseverance of our local team means that we have a high success rate in bringing families back together. We love hearing updates from the families on how their perceptions and attitudes have shifted thanks to this work:
“When my granddaughter became pregnant I did not want anything to do with her. I drove her from the house because I was so angry. The project’s team came to talk to me and encouraged me to let her return to the home. They made me realise that the pregnancy was not her fault and that I should support her. Now, Fanta has made me proud. She is a successful tailor making a good income, and even has enough money to send food home to us. Even the clothes I am wearing today were sewed by Fanta. This project is really doing great things. It is helping not just the young mothers but all of us women.”
Thank you!
On behalf of the entire AdAmi team and the young mothers we work with, thank you for your support towards our work this year.
We look forward to continuing to work alongside you over the coming year to build many more life-changing opportunities for young mothers in Sierra Leone. In the meantime, we wish you a joyous festive season and a Happy New Year.