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