About Us

Home Page

YSLI Brochure

Sierra Leone History

Members login:

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Sierra Leone is internationally recognized as one of the poorest countries in the world. Although the country's poverty can be partly attributed to political corruption and misappropriation of resources, the situation in Sierra Leone was made worse by the decade-long rebel incursion, which plagued the country for most of the 1990's. From the signing of the Lom� Peace Accord in 1999, which officially ended the war, numerous governmental and non-governmental organizations have been established to facilitate the rebuilding of the country. Most of the rebuilding efforts have been directed towards the overall infrastructure of the country; the importance of the youth in the rebuilding effort has been continually overlooked.

Youth for Sierra Leone Improvement (YSLI) is a non-profit organization that is devoted to empowering the youths of Sierra Leone through education. YSLI strongly believes that the future of Sierra Leone lies in the hands of its youth, and without basic education of the youth, the future will be dismal. To ensure a better and prosperous future for Sierra Leone, YSLI has initiated the following three projects: (1) Access to Primary Education for Children, (2) Continuing Education for Adolescents girls and Women (3) Health Services and Education. These projects are open to the general public and are expected to be operational in September 2007. However, special emphasis will be place on the recruitment of underprivileged young girls and women because these groups, which are part of the population, are not a central focus of the current rebuilding effort. We now have Two chapters in Sierra Leone, one in BO and in Freetown, We also have chapters in Georgia, Maryland and England and opening Chapters in the northern area of Sl and other states in The U.S.

1.1 Background and Justification

After the decade-long civil war for the entirety of the 1990's, Sierra Leone is now beginning a new dispensation as it strives towards national development in its drive to keep up with the developed economies of the world. According to the 2004 UNDP report, Sierra Leone is ranked as one of the poorest countries in the world. In terms of human development, its emancipation from this present situation requires a combined effort of several people. In a country where the gap between the haves and the have-nots are ever widening, Youth for Sierra Leone Improvement's (YSLI) attention has been captivated to lend a hand to those individuals, who can work with the less privileged to build up the country, and to bridge the gap between the privilege and underprivileged.

The scars of the civil war are still present in the streets of Freetown, the capital city and other big towns, but especially in the villages around the country. The number of street kids has grown; it has triggered a young population that is a menace to society. Destitute families, including small children, have been turned to criminals and this phenomenon continues to increase. The number of female dropouts from the national schooling system is also on the rise, as the competition for the scarce resources between the much stronger male counterparts becomes increasingly fierce. The scourge of malaria and the HIV/ AIDS pandemic on the populace, particularly the destitute, is outstanding. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, is a psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of life-threatening events such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or violent personal assaults like rape. There are many in this country that are suffering from PTSD, and one of the ways to provide mental health care to this community is to implement psychotherapy into the healthy society portion. There is neither definitive treatment nor cure for PTSD, but some treatments appear to be quite promising, especially cognitive-behavioral therapy, group therapy, and exposure therapy.

1.2 Education for the underprivileged children

Advocacy for the achievement of basic educational standards, particularly for less developed countries, has been set by various world bodies, as well as in pronouncements by world leaders. The right to education for every child has been advocated by the United Nations through its agencies, UNICEF and UNDP. Globally, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was launched by the United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan at the World Education Forum (WEF) in Dakar, Senegal in April 2000. The MDGs' objective is aimed towards reducing/narrowing the gender gap in primary and secondary education and ensuring that all children complete primary level education by 2015. Primary schooling will be equally accessible to both boys and girls at all levels.

In a February 8, 2005 report by UNICEF on girl's education in Sierra Leone, it is estimated that over 300,000 children are still out of school, despite the great increase in school enrollment.

Youth for Sierra Leone Improvement has sought to target this particular section of the population. A school for the underprivileged in society, which provides quality education at no cost in terms of school fees, materials and other expenses, will persuade parents and/ or caretakers of such children to send their children to school, rather than leaving them on the streets of Freetown or other big towns, as juvenile delinquents. Furthermore, it will prevent parents from allowing children to engage in other non-productive, non-beneficial socio-economic activities, which is occasionally allowed due to the lack of alternatives for such families.

The school will target and determine competent levels of performance for all its members of staff and these will be highly motivated people working towards the fulfillment of the objectives set by the organization. An original estimate of 300 underprivileged children of both sexes have been targeted for a start which will be increase as the program stabilizes and explores other areas of helping to make better the lives of these underprivileged children.

1.3 Vocational Center for growth and development for adolescent and adult women

The school will initially kick off as a computer skills training vocational institute where the skills of information technology will be enhanced. In a world controlled by computers, access to such skills will open more opportunities for them in their quest to better their lives and their dependants. This will increase their job prospects and be a catalyst for modern female entrepreneurs.

In addition, Youth for Sierra Leone Improvement (YSLI) has as a niche of the populace, adolescent ladies and women and, who can contribute immensely to the national development of society.

Traditionally, boys were preferred to girls for advancement in schooling because parents wanted to spread scarce resources and help continue the family name. This social custom left the potential of several intelligent girls untapped, but there are current corrective actions being taken by various world bodies, notably the agencies of the United Nations, to correct this anomaly. This will hopefully benefit society by fully utilizing its human resources. However, these ill-fated girls, who are now adult women and/or adolescent girls, can still be trained to be economically viable in society. Again, the target section will be poor, underprivileged adolescents and women, who will be able to improve their lives through this initiative.

1.3 Health services and educations with an emphasis on HIV/Aids and Malaria.

The devastating impact of HIV/ AIDS and malaria, particularly on the poor and needy has been known for some time and has caught the attention of world bodies and leaders. HIV/ AIDS and malaria reduce the productive capacity of its victims, and in a country ranked among the poorest in the world with little or no health care facilities, the consequential effects are disastrous.

Families have been torn apart as children grow up without parents, who die abruptly. Because of the negative impact and stigma of the disease (HIV), many people refuse voluntary counseling and testing. Such counseling and testing has been proven to give positive results because when people know their status, they are given the opportunity to tackle the virus at an early stage and prolong their lives. This will be vital because parents will then be able to make adequate provisions for their children and dependants before they die. Social vices will be reduced, and the spread of the virus will be curtailed as people are taught to be responsible for their sexual behavior. Therefore, sexual education will be provided.

The impact of HIV/ AIDS, particularly on the populace of Sierra Leone, cannot be reliably quantified because the culture of voluntary counseling and testing has not been rooted in society. Forecasts estimate that it might be as high as 8% on the total populace, and if this increase is not addressed, the very fabric of society will be destroyed.

Malaria, though having a cure, is still one of the most lethal diseases in Sierra Leone. Access to basic drugs and medical facilities are for some of the privileged, who can afford the huge medical cost. There are cases of unnecessary death, which could have been easily prevented,because of the common reasons highlighted previously.

Youth for Sierra Leone Improvement intends to help alleviate the problem of medical charges by providing free medical care for the most underprivileged people in society. The menace of malaria-related deaths should not be present in this century, and it is our belief that all hands should unite to help eliminate this problem. Along with treatment, there will be psychotherapy provided for patients whose conditions will allow them to function in society through therapy.

There will be the construction and operation of a medical centre/ clinic that deals with HIV/ AIDS victims by providing them with the following: anti -viral drugs, voluntary counseling and testing, and treatment of malaria. This clinic/centre will provide all of these services, particularly for the underprivileged in society.