Helping to better the lives of others is the greatest of all Achievements

One of the definitions of the word "challenge" is a call to action and Khadarlis for Sierra Leone will not rest until the cries of poor Communities worldwide but more especially in Sierra Leone, West Africa and Providence, RI in the United States are heard loud and clear. In this issue, I am ressurrecting the image and impact felt by millions of vulnerable groups and individuals who would never have realised  their dreams in life if Alan Shawn Feinstein was not born. Alan Feisntein is a well known philanthropist and humanitarian who has made tremendous impact on American education and public service throughout the US and beyond.

With a College background in both journalism and education, Mr. Feinstein taught Public Schools in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and established an English School in Thailand. He later entered the business world, starting a financial advisory newspaper column and private news letter in 1974.

Since 1996, he has dedicated his full time to philanthropic endeavours, focusing on the advancement of Public Service and the alleviation of hunger. He founded the world hunger program at Brown University, the first University center to study and try to end the cause of hunger. His committment to the schools in the State of Rhode Island is legendary. He has dedicated millions of dollars to its elementary and secondary schools, and to its Colleges and Universities to enhance the importance of Community Service in education and the values of caring, compassion and brotherhood. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the first Public High School in Providence, RI, and the first College Program to offer a degree in this field (The Feinstein Institute at Providence College).

His motto "Helping to better the lives of others is the greatest of all achievements" is on all High Schools and Middle School Buildings in Providence. In fact his accomplishments in the rhelm of education, Community Service and Philanthropy can fill thousands of pages and the World would ever remain committed to his indelible legacy.

It is in line with such spontaneous inspirational collaborative vision that Khadarlis for Sierra Leone is pleased to reach out to the World shoulder to shoulder with the likes of the Feistein Foundation.

Khadarlis is a 501(c) (3) non profit based in Providence, RI championing the cause of  people and vulnerable groups in need of assistance to better their lives in through educational opportunities, provision of health services,  sustainable agricultural practices, womens, empowerment, housing and youth development.  Our local activities include:

• Community Outreach Center: The Khadarlis center located at 99 Academy Ave in Providence, RI offers its office space as a community work space where local students can come in and use the donated computers to work on school-related projects. Job seekers also use the center’s internet and free wifi hotspot to do job search and submit job applications online. Khadarlis also works to organize community events and donation drives to benefit the Providence community.
• Homeless Support: One of Khadarlis’ current initiatives is helping homeless populations transition into new homes and apartments in the Providence, Rhode Island area. Our organization is able to facilitate this by collaborating with Gifts in Kind-International (also known as Good360) — Khadarlis receives donated items from stores like Bed, Bath & Beyond and distributes them to families who are in need of the supplies.  These donations are stored in Khadarlis’ storefront, where recipients referred by local community agencies and charities can pick up their items.  This service is intended to help those who are struggling financially or who are reintegrating into society furnish their homes and get back on their feet. Right now the rate of incoming donations from stores exceeds the rate of outgoing donations, but we are working to spread the word and find suitable recipients through our collaborators and increase the number of outgoing donations.  This program is our way of giving back to the neighborhood that has housed us since our founding in 2007.  Even though Providence is a wonderful city, many people here struggle to make ends meet. About 23% of the residents in our zipcode (02908) live below the U.S. poverty line, according to clrsearch.com, and many more are in the low-to-moderate income bracket.  We believe that we have a responsibility, as global citizens, to help everyone we can, especially those in our home community.
• Khadarlis Community Computer Resource Center:  Earlier this year, the Providence-based nonprofit Khadarlis for Sierra Leone began offering its computer lab as a space where students and unemployed people can come in to work on projects or to conduct job searches.  So far the program has been quite successful, but because Khadarlis only has four donated computers set aside for community use, there often aren’t enough to go around.  In order to remedy this problem, Khadarlis is converting its storefront (that formerly housed a thrift store) into a computer lab.  We are currently working towards raising money to purchase additional computers for the neighborhood users.
•  In Sierra Leone, we solicit support for improvement in living conditions of an impoverished population still recovering from 11 year civil war that left the Country side in utter ruins. Our focus is with the Southern region in Jimmi, Bandajuma, Kpawama and Senehun Gullahun, the original birth place of a substantial number of African-Americans believed to be descendants of the Gullah tribe in West Africa.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leonean_American 
• Though the guns are now relatively silent as the Country experiments with western democracy, the repercussions of the "Blood Diamond Conflict" still lingers and haunts the poor and vulnerable groups in post- conflict Sierra Leone and its sisterly neighbor- Liberia with widespread poverty that knows no exit route!
• It is the hope of  Sierra Leoneans within and in the diaspora that gradually, the world recognizes the role of Khadarlis and its programs geared towards Community outreach in Providence, RI and rebuilding Sierra Leone by bringing smiles on the faces of the victims of the Blood Diamond conflict that wretched the sub region of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast and indeed the entire ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) which created their military wing of what became known as ECOMOG (Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_Community_of_West_African_States_Monitoring_Group
• As the region continue leaking  its wounds from the physical and psychological damage brought by the war, the issues of peace building and sustainable development are now the most contentious and as a call to action, Khadarlis is in the middle to apply best practices from the experiences of the great United States to the improverished population in remote villages in Sierra Leone. 
• ( Please visit our website at http://www.khadarlis.org) and help us move the vision of Khadarlis to greater heights emulating the likes of Alan Shawn Feinstein and if possible collaborate with his prestigious foundation on behalf of the people of Providence and the people of Sierra Leone. http://khadarlis.org/our-global-activities/sample-page

Moving Girl child Education from theory to practice in Southern Sierra Leone

Education awareness and sensitization  of local people and all stakeholders to ensure they understand the advantages and benefits of women's education is a crucial subject in the development equation world wide. In Sierra Leone, the campaign for female education has been taking a progressive trend with NGOs working side by side with government to implement projects and programs to realize the objectives of bringing gender on the agenda of national and international development. Invariably, relationship building through a continuous process of dialogue to create trust between and among various stakeholders is also very important  in  meeting MDG 3 for Sierra Leone.

In order to accomplish this,  participation of all stakeholders, including empowerment groups in  communities must  take responsibility to educate girl children. Incidentally, this goal is a  corner stone of Khadarlis vision for Sierra Leone. In this regard, Khadarlis for Sierra Leone is deeply involved with resuscitating and sustaining the academic programs already set in motion for the only Girls Secondary School in Jimmi, the chiefdom headquarter of Bagbo chiefdom in Bo District, Southern Sierra Leone. Jimmi has a Government supported Boys Secondary School founded in 1923, which Khadarlis has been helping over the past couple of years. The Girls Junior Secondary School was  founded in 2003 towards the close of the civil war when Liberian refugees were settled in Jimmi for over 7 years and the need for the education of girls became indispensable. 

However after the war, these refugees were repatriated even though a handful of them decided to stay in Jimmi for obvious reasons. It is unfortunate that support by International partners such as UNHCR, World Vision and a couple of others have not been active enough in support of the school, and as a result of that, the  school is at the brink of collapse and that will not be a good signal for the progress made so far in girl child education for that region. That is the more reason why Khadarlis for Sierra Leone is championing the cause of  ensuring  that a school for girls education in areas where Khadarlis is operating remains up and  running in fulfillment of moving forward with the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs)





 A flexible and adaptable process in the face of the prevailing social perception of the education of girls in disadvantaged communities like Jimmi in Southern Sierra Leone requires the participation and collaboration of grass root organizations like Khadarlis for Sierra Leone with its international connections and strategic partnerships, the stage has been set to advance female education and gender equality in Southern Sierra Leone with Khadarlis as a formidable bridge.


According to the MDG Progress Report 2010, Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women (MDG3) remains  an illusion that all development partners would continue to work around to bring it into reality even beyond 2015.  "This goal will not be met. Near gender balance has been achieved in gross primary enrollment, but with a higher drop-out rate among girls, female completion rates are subsequently much lower. Boys enroll and complete secondary school at a higher rate than girls. Even with an immediate turnaround, parity cannot be reached by 2015. Other forms of discrimination against women still exist and women are generally less empowered than men" These are the words of the President of Sierra Leone in that 2010 Progress  report and Khadarlis for Sierra Leone is reaching out to all well-meaning development practitioners, philanthropists and volunteers to make the dream of pushing for girl child education in Southern Sierra Leone a reality.

Health and Wellness: Khadarlis Work in Sierra Leone

            Healthcare is one of the most basic needs in countries like Sierra Leone. In such countries, preventable illness kills thousands upon thousands annually. The people of Sierra Leone face serious threats from a protozoal menagerie of diseases – from AIDS, yellow fever and hepatitis to diarrhea. The main challenges to cleanliness in Sierra Leone are sanitation infrastructure (i.e. clean water, sewage systems), sterile health care facilities and personal hygiene (safe sex, handwashing, etc.).

            Thankfully, organizations like Khadarlis are incredibly proactive in their efforts to improve the living situation for the people of Sierra Leone. In 2009, on their third trip, the Khadarlis supplied the clinic in Jimmi (a clinic which services ten local villages) with basic healthcare supplies. Later that year, on a fourth trip, they held AIDS awareness classes in Jimmi and Senehun. In 2011, on Khadarlis tenth trip, they visited Jimmi, Senehun, Bandajuma and Kawama, and grew their AIDS awareness campaign (including a walk-a-thon).

            During this same trip, the Khadarlis made a huge donations to the Jimmi clinic, giving gloves, medical supplies, bandages, sheets, towels, first aid kids, staff uniforms, gynecological tools, thermometers, hand sanitizer, blankets and baby toys. They also held classes on personal hygiene and sanitation, teaching about proper hand-washing, water purification, disease control and proper condom use. Throughout Khadarlis work in Sierra Leone, they have also maintained a strong presence in water work, a key factor in the fight against preventable disease (for more information on that, see http://khadarlis-change.blogspot.com/2012/06/let-river-flow-signs-of-progress-in.html).

            Healthcare is one of the most important steps to development in Sierra Leone. Without it, people cannot live full, long, healthy lives, and the country as a whole is unable to progress with such a short life expectancy of its people. By removing some of the biggest threats to life, love and happiness, Sierra Leone will be able to prosper and grow to match the spirit and perseverance of its people.

Marisa N. | Volunteer Blogger

Khadarlis for Sierra Leone

The Role of Non-Profit Organizations in developing rural communities in Sierra Leone, the case of Khadarlis for Sierra Leone.

In both industrialized and developing countries, there is a growing body of experience, which attests to the positive roles that non-profit organizations (NPOs) play in development. (Clark, 1991) These roles include, in particular:  providing goods and services - especially meeting needs which have not hitherto been met by either the State or by the private sector. assisting the government achieve its development objectives - in particular through contributing skills for which NPOs have comparative advantage, such as public information, education and communications campaigns, or providing information about the situations and needs of particularly vulnerable groups; helping citizens to voice their aspirations, concerns and alternatives for consideration by policy makers, thereby giving substance to governments' policies regarding freedoms of association and speech; helping to enhance the accountability and transparency of government and local government programs and of officials. (World Bank,1996) For such reasons, one's role as a patriotic participant of society takes varied levels of commitment on the part of citizens the world over. In Industralised welfare societies, non profit organizations work hand in hand with  local and International NGO's to forster community and national development and in the case of sub-saharan Africa, majority of the big NGOs and donor organizations are based in the west and extending programs and projects through their national offices located  in almost every Country in Africa and beyond. It has reached a period however that the development paradigm is running around its circle in dramatic propensities. The likes of Khadarlis for Sierra Leone operating from the US and having strong ties with local champions on the ground such as Community Action for Rural Empowerment (CAREM), is an innovation that is poised to create strategic impact that would only be emulated by other small community empowerment organisations. Khadarlis has also been able to establish a very strong local presence in the Providence area in Rhode Island with a gamut of between 35-50 volunteers ready and willing to go an extra mile to further the goals of the organisation. Therefore, the increasing interest on the part of   other development agencies in collaborating with little but effective nonprofits over the past decade is a positive sign for our beneficiaries.  The World Bank for instance  usually speaks of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) by which it means NPOs and community-based organizations (CBOs) that are (i) entirely or largely independent of government; (ii) not operated for profit; and (iii) exist to serve humanitarian, social or cultural interests, either of their memberships or of society as a whole. (World Bank, 1996) The non-profit sector has  grown over the years  to occupy a significant proportion of the landscape in both  industrialized and developing  countries. A recent study by Johns Hopkins University (Salamon and Anheier, 1998) reveals that the non profit sector (including government contributions, fees and voluntary donations of funds and time) is estimated at a staggering $1,311 billion in just the 5 largest economies (the G5) for 1995. For comparison, this is approximately the same as the publicly guaranteed debt burden of all developing countries, the same as the GDP of the 50 low-income countries (including China and India), or the same as the GDP of the UK. The Johns Hopkins study concludes, 'the existence of a vibrant non-profit sector is increasingly being viewed not as a luxury, but as a necessity, for peoples throughout the world. Such institutions can give expression to citizen concerns, hold governments accountable, promote community, address unmet needs, and generally improve the quality of life'. But on the whole, for such wide dreams to be met, its effectiveness to bridge the wide gap between the "haves and the have nots" cannot be superficially restricted to the much trumpeted millinium development goals and its technical indicators. It requires a sustained collaboration among stakeholders in the development matrix. Such  enhanced collaboration (involving, as it does, the government in question) and relevant development partners and donors  can  enable the partners  to identify important NGO contributions to development beyond their capacity to deliver services. Some NGOs have important specialist knowledge, for example regarding environmental issues. Some NGOs work in close partnership with poor communities and are able both to help foster participatory development approaches and to identify priority concerns of poor people. Other NGOs help strengthen civil society through informing and educating the public, for example concerning their legal rights or entitlements to services or by helping attune government policies and practices to the needs of poor citizens. In order for development partners, donor organizations and governments to be able to work effectively with NGOs in a given country, and to benefit fully from the contributions they can potentially make to successful development, it is important that NGOs be freely established and operate without undue constraints; that they be independent of the government; and be transparent and accountable. Only if such conditions are met will the NGO sector reflect the full range of relevant viewpoints and expertise pertinent to a wide variety of development projects. Similarly, NGOs need to have both the full ranges of powers, privileges, and immunities enjoyed by other juridical persons in the society. When NGOs are transparent and have well-developed mechanisms for accountability (to their beneficiaries as well as to their funders), the integrity of each NGO and of the sector itself is ensured. There is then a greater likelihood that the NGOs represent accurately the views of the poor. And guess what, neither governments nor International NGOs normally enter into suburbs and vulnerable communities, some of which have never seen a school or benefited from  a water well  facility but have been living in  their own world independent of the central government. With all intents and purposes, it is only the collaboration of CBOs and local nonprofits can work closely and serve as loud speakers for such God forgotten communities. These are the categories of  people that Khadarlis for Sierra Leone is advocating for from the fringes of the US and across several waters to the deep forests of Sierra Leone. Today in this 21st Century, development partners, philanthropists and donors have expanded their  work with the non-profit sector because they have proven from evidence-based research  that operational partnership and genuine dialogue makes good business sense and can make realistic inroads in reaching out to vulnerable groups. Hence their approach to working with this sector is built around three objectives: strengthening operational collaboration; improving dialogue on development policy; and improving the effectiveness of NPOs in developing countries, especially by fostering a policy environment that enables NPOs to play a more active role in development. In the case of Khadarlis for Sierra Leone, our strategic location in the diaspora remains our strength as we engage our partners today and for ever more. This is what the President of the World Bank,  James Wolfensohn once said with regards to the subject: 'In all its forms, civil society is probably the largest single factor in development, if not in its monetary contribution, then certainly in it's human contribution and its experience and its history. ... Depending on local political circumstances, civil society has a greater or lesser voice, but our experience is that by engaging civil society in projects and programs, better results are achieved both with design and implementation and usually greater effectiveness, including more local ownership. I think we all recognize more and more that local ownership is the key to successful project effectiveness.'

Moving from Legal obligation to moral obligation in the aid industry: the case of Khadarlis- Sierra Leone.

The dreams of a global village set up by World Leaders cannot be far from that of improving the quality of life of all peoples irrespective of race, tribe, affiliation or status. The truth is that hundreds of millions of people are suffering horribly across the world due to bad policies and irresponsible leaderships across the African Continent.

According to the code of ethics for International business transactions, it has been noticed that with  increased globalization comes improved and polished international business ethics and the domino effect runs across institutions, companies  and  frontiers. The number of multinational companies and nonprofits which operate outside their home Country and taking advantage of diaspora engagements as a new window is increasing rapidly.

In the same vein, the active involvement of local communities in seeking, implementing and evaluating the impact of grants are also becoming both fundamental and imperative in moving communities forward within and without the periphery of the aid industry.

Today, we enter into communities with innovative ideals and strategies that has been scrutinized and applied by accomplished researchers in the field.

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) for example is a research-based technique that has been used successfully in a variety of settings in favor of moral obligation on the part of aid donors and aid workers alike. AI builds on the assumption that human systems are said to move in the direction of what they most frequently and persistently ask questions about. Questions about their well-being versus the role of outside players to improve on their lot. This also brings us to the concept of "local champions" once they are given an opportunity to co- run the show.

American poet, Robert Frost tried to allude to this phenomenon in his master piece poem, "The Road Not Taken" in the first two lines:
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
  And sorry, I could not travel both."

Indeed, there are two divergent paths we can travel as we consider community action, community involvement and community change. But as Frost aptly observed, we just can.t travel both, rather we must choose one in a world symbolized by yellow wood which in itself depicts the idiosyncrasies of society. The choice of moral obligation in working with communities is now becoming a matter of necessity and even government officials are now being under constant surveillance by civil society organizations serving as checks and balances to ensure that they work in the interest of the population and if not, the process of natural selection that has been modernized today in the guise of democracy will invariably catch up with them.

For over two decades now, the process of globalization has been influencing the socio-economic environment in Countries especially in sub-saharan Africa. While globalization provides new opportunities for economic development to Countries through trade liberalization, foreign direct investment, capital flows, remittances, information exchange and technological transfer, it has inversely meant increased deprivation for those nations which have been unable to adjust to the new requirements of the global society. Thus, on one hand, while we witness rapid economic growth and prosperity in some regions, there remains more than a billion people who continue to languish in poverty with purchasing power of less than a dollar a day. In the poorest Countries like Sierra Leone, about one fifth of the children die in the first year of their birth, nearly half of those who survive are malnourished and a significant proportion of the population does not have access to clean water, sanitation, basic health services and education.

The harsh realities of increased global inequalities had been a major concern to the international community over the years , but as the new century opened with an unprecedented declaration of solidarity and determination to rid the world of poverty in the millennium declaration of September, 2000, the world has been waiting with cautious optimism.

Khadarlis for Sierra Leone, founded in 2007 is committed to championing the cause of vulnerable groups  in remote communities in Sierra Leone in line with the shift in the development paradigm by working closely with volunteers, civil society organizations, professional associations, and other development partners to attract projects and programs in the south-east of Sierra Leone.

Collective awareness and consciousness about social responsibilities does not stop half way through. It signifies that all key players in the development journey attempt to consider the social consequences of their actions on behalf of vulnerable groups.

Bravo to the International Collective Commitment among World leaders and Philanthropist Community. Surely, your determination to rid the world of poverty will take roots gradually as we monitor trends on the ground. Surely, this theory favors decisions that have positive economic and social effect  on developing countries.

Khadarlis for Sierra Leone is strongly on board and we even subscibe immensely to the US strategy for Africa as highlighted in previous posts on this blog. We are on board the ship of socio-economic change with a slogan that we would always follow with persistence: "Rebuilding Villages in Africa - one village after another."

Leading by Example

 

I am amazed by the work of Khadarlis for Sierra Leone because their efforts are focused in the most important thing of all and that is food sustainability, the freedom and knowledge to be able to grow your own foods! Everyone in the world should learn to do this.

God has given us in nature everything we need to nurture our body, and foods coming from natural sources are not only foods, but vitamins and healing medicine. Eating the fruits of your labor and knowing the source is very important. We can learn from Khadarlis how the great efforts of an organization that does what is right (and for the right reasons) will be successful, especially with your help and spreading the word about the importance of food sustainability.

I know that while living in the city it is merely impossible to keep a garden, and we may not yet need to have one, but is everyone's job to learn to care for others and yourself. We have a commandment to follow and when we do this, we will be blessed. We may not even knowwhat exactly what we need, but ask and it shall be given to you according to what you believe. The ONE above, in whom we shall trust with all of our might, will feed you and clothe you every day of your life.

I encourage you to learn more, how you can get involved with Khadarlis efforts. Remember, is the personal experiences that stick with us forever, to change and improve the generations to come. This way, you can contribute to a world where no one is hungry, and no one is cold and everyone has a way to survive and thrive. Sharing your experience with your children on how you put your grain of sand in this ocean, is leading with your example, and this is one of the best lessons they will learn in their life.

 

One example of Khadarlis efforts:

Agriculture

As a result of high population growth and a decade of civil war that ended in 2002, poverty remains widespread throughout the country. The severe economic decline that went hand in hand with civil war and social unrest destroyed social and physical infrastructure and impoverished the country. Sierra Leone is the poorest country in the world, according to the UNDP Human Development Index (HDI).

It ranked last out of 177 countries on the HDI in 2005. Health and nutrition indicators remain among the worst in the world. A large proportion of youth, including many former combatants, are unemployed or underemployed. Fostering agriculture and farming in villages will provide jobs, food and self reliance for villagers.

We have adopted the ABC of Agriculture
A-Agriculture training
B- Setting up community Businesses
C-Career in agriculture.

A little goes a long way, please consider contributing today, to life!

Gisela B.