Girl Child Pregnancy Prevention Campaign Forum

Mariatu Koroma , Sallay kuyetteh, Isatu Kanu and Ramatu Sankoh – Are all pregnant under age 16OPARD-SL through a grant support from the Journalists for Human Rights hosted a Girl Child Pregnancy Prevention Campaign Forum at Mile 91, Sierra Leone . The objective is to decrease instances of girl-child pregnancy before age 16 in Tonkolili District.  As it stands now Girl-child pregnancy remains a persistent problem in the Mile 91 comminity. Girl-children, which we define to between 12 and 16 years of age, are vulnerable to marriage and/ or sexual relations with older men because of economic and/or family pressures.

 

The Campaign Forum was chaired by the Director for OPARD/ SL Mr. Ahmed Muckson Sesay, In his opening remarks, the chairman spoke at length on the negativity of girl child pregnancy and emphasize the purpose of the forum in which he said is to discuss the problems currently facing the girl child especially the alarming pregnancy rate within the Yoni Chiefdom. He sited that "when a child is born poor and that child gave birth to a child, that child would be considered the poorest of the poor" he concluded,
Read more...
 
Micro Credit Scheme
Over one hundred war-widows have benefited from our current micro-credit program. We have provided them with credit loans to start business, training them on micro-credit skills management, and giving them agricultural input to be independent and self employed.

This support came from self- Development of the people (SDOP) USA, who provided the grant to empower war-widows, gain self esteem and self-reliance.

 

OPARD-SL is currently using this grant as revolving funds to help other war-widows who need similar assistance. OPARD-SL faces ever-increasing pressure from communities that need more assistance, even though our projects are designed for sustainability, the current economic and social needs of Sierra Leone urgently demand the expansion of such efforts.
 
MICRO-CREDIT SUPPORT - CURRENT PROJECT

Project Name :  MICRO-CREDIT SUPPORT FOR WAR WIDOWS
Start Date:  As soon as funding is available   
Expected  End Date  :  NA
Proposal Submission Status:  Unsubmited
Expected Outcome:  250 war affected widows will receive training on micro-credit management skills

 

INTRODUCTION 

The war has left our communities with a high number of war-affected widows and orphans Who are vulnerable to unhealthy practices. These vulnerable widows participate in underpaid domestic jobs, humiliating street begging and commercial sex/sex-trade or prostitution, which consequently exposed them to sexual transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS.OPARD-SL designed a micro - credit support project for war affected widows in order to help them train and practice selective income generating activities in the field of petty-trade / small-scale business enterprises and commercial agriculture as an alternative to health risk jobs,  alleviate their present deplorable situation, and to help them care for themselves and their dependent children. 

PROJECT GOALS 

  •  To provide micro-credit commodities package to 250 war affected widows.
  • To provide training on micro-credit skills management, which includes business ideas, sales promotion, bookkeeping, saving and repayment. 

Strategies  

  •   Workshop: A three days workshop will  be conducted for the beneficiaries to provide them with skills and knowledge to enable them to run their businesses sustainably. The workshop session includes experience--sharing and exchange of business idea and repayment strategies as a revolving loan scheme. 
  •   Loan Agreement: After the training exercise beneficiaries are encourage to sign a loan agreement form as a binding document between OPARD-SL and the beneficiaries as a  mechanism for loan security. The loan agreement form would specify the loan portfolio and repayment terms and period. 
  •    Loan Disbursement: After signing the loan agreement form, beneficiaries are now eligible to receive their micro-credit commodities package for them to start business. The package could be physical cash or items like milled rice, sugar, palm oil, Maggi, fish or  kerosene, as desired by each beneficiary. 

EXPECTED OUTCOME  

  • 250 war affected widows would receive training on micro-credit management skills
  • 250 war affected widows would receive a loan package of commodities items.
  EXPECTED IMPACT 
  • 250 war affected widows would engage in small-scale business enterprise and abandon  sex trade/commercial sex and street begging. This would help to promote their economic status and save them from the dangers of HIV/AIDS risk, thereby improving their health and also cut down on the spread of HIV/AIDS pandemic.
  • The profit gained from their businesses would be used  to pay for their children in school.
  •  The directed beneficiaries who are war affected widows owned the project. They take decisions on how to manage the affairs of the project.
  • The project would help to improve the lives of the people in the immediate community by providing revolving micro-credit scheme that engage people in small scale business to raise income.
  • People would be able to easily buy items like milled rice, sugar, palm oil within their village rather than to walk long distance of about 5 to 6 miles each day to buy such food items.
  •  Reduction on the number of commercial sex workers by engaging these categories of people into income earning exercise such as petty trade.
  • Would help to promote peace and cooperation among people to promote the  development program.